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‘F—— idiot’: Norris made to pay for Saudi qualifying crash as Verstappen takes pole

McLaren driver Lando Norris' car is carried out of the track after crashing during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Lando Norris’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying session ended in the barriers – AP/Altaf Qadri

Lando Norris called himself a “f—— idiot” after a heavy crash in qualifying left the McLaren driver 10th on the grid for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and facing a huge battle to retain his lead in the championship.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pounced on the error, as he so often does, to claim pole. Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri was second and Mercedes’s George Russell placed third on the grid.

But it was Norris’s latest error in a season in which they are fast piling up that will dominate the headlines. The 25-year-old, who currently has a three-point advantage over Piastri in the drivers’ standings, was clearly furious with himself after bouncing off a kerb at turn four, losing control of his McLaren and smashing into the far wall of the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, ripping off his front-left wheel and damaging the suspension. Asked by his engineer whether he was OK, Norris replied: “Yeah all good. F—— idiot.”

Salt was predictably rubbed into his wounds after a brief red-flag period while marshals removed his car. And once again it was Verstappen who took full advantage. Red Bull’s flying Dutchman had not yet left the pit lane when Norris crashed in Q3, meaning he had two sets of soft tyres to use up.

When the pit lane opened up again, the four-time world champion was immediately out, setting provisional pole with his first push lap. Then, after first Russell and then Piastri bettered his time, Verstappen went out and improved it again, setting a track-record 1min 27.294sec, one hundredth of a second faster than Piastri.

“I’m very happy,” Verstappen said afterwards. “I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here. But the car came alive overnight, we made some changes and it was a lot nicer to drive. Even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be hard to keep them behind me.”

That may be true. But the pole-sitter has won three out of four times in Saudi Arabia, where it is difficult to overtake given the tight walls. When that was put to Verstappen, he just smiled. “I’m just happy we had a solid qualifying,” he said. “Much better than we had in Bahrain. Let’s see what happens in the race.”

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren celebrate in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Max Verstappen took his second pole of the season – Getty Images/Clive Rose

If the evidence of Suzuka two weekends ago is anything to go by, Verstappen will be difficult to pass on a super-fast circuit, which is much more to Red Bull’s liking than last week’s track in Bahrain, where he finished sixth and complained afterwards that “everything that could go wrong did go wrong”.

Norris later said he would be happy with a “top-five” finish, although McLaren’s race pace is such that he could do a lot better depending on various factors, one of them being a well-timed safety car. 

At least he was able to crack a smile in the interview pen. Asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he could explain his crash, Norris grinned ruefully. “No. Move on.”

Norris added that he had no idea how extensive the damage was to his car, or whether he would need a new gearbox. 

“I just came back from the medical centre, so I have no idea,” he replied. “I’ll go and see my engineers and apologise. But we’ll need a bit of luck [in the race]. We know it’s very hard to overtake here. Top five or six, honestly, I’ll be happy. Oscar wasn’t on pole so we obviously weren’t that much quicker than the Red Bull. Even George in third. So to get close to them is probably not realistic. Top five is probably our target.”

Elsewhere, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fourth on the grid, 0.4 seconds slower than Verstappen but over half a second quicker than his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh and is bound once again to face questions about his form and the time it is taking to adapt to his new team.

Hamilton was already sounding pretty gloomy after practice on Friday. “Normally, on Saturday, it goes backwards, but there’s not a lot of backwards for me to go from where I am,” he had said. He was right.

There were more questions for Norris, though. McLaren had widely expected to dominate qualifying, having absolutely destroyed their rivals in practice. Norris and Piastri were a full six-tenths quicker than the next fastest car, which was Russell’s Mercedes. But as so often happens, when push came to shove, it was Verstappen who maximised what his car was capable of.

After difficult weekends in China and Suzuka, and a very troublesome one in Bahrain last weekend, where he could only qualify sixth and then made a number of errors in the race, the pressure really is on Norris, who has a tendency to be hugely self-critical.

It will be fascinating to see how he reacts to this latest setback. Norris still has the lead in the championship, and still has time on his side. But he badly needs to arrest this mini-slump.

08:05 PM BST

The race tomorrow

Starts at 6pm BST. We will be here from around 5pm for all the build-up from Jeddah. 

07:54 PM BST

Still no word from Norris

But I’ve seen a clip of him entering the media pen so we should have something shortly. 

07:46 PM BST

Another good session for Sainz

P6 for Williams and ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Earlier this week I said there was light at the end of the tunnel for Hamilton. However, the magnitude of that appears to be of Lærdal Tunnel proportions. 

07:40 PM BST

You can never count out Verstappen

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed qualifier Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talk in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

His second pole position of the season on a track where a driver’s commitment and skill makes a huge difference. I think he will struggle to win the race tomorrow but it is certainly a possibility if he keeps the lead off the line. 

07:33 PM BST

Zak Brown on McLaren’s day

“[Lando’s] Car’s a little bruised, we’ll get that fixed and we’ll go again tomorrow. Just focus on the race tomorrow. It’ll probably be a one-stop race but high likelihood if safety cars. See if we can get him further up the grid, he’ll certainly be faster than he qualified. Our race pace is good but track position is key. I’m looking forward to a big duel tomorrow.”

07:31 PM BST

Watch: Verstappen’s pole lap

Supreme stuff. 

0.910sec the difference between him and Tsunoda today. Hamilton again half a second off Leclerc. 

07:24 PM BST

We will wait to hear from Norris

I imagine, as usual, he will be crestfallen and hugely self-critical. So much talk has been on his mistakes in the last couple of weeks and he has now made the biggest of them in the season so far. I suppose the only plus for him is that Piastri has some competition around him. 

07:19 PM BST

Pole man Verstappen speaks

“Very happy. I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here… the car came alive in the night. We made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive. The grip was coming to me. It’s really satisfying. To be first here in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow… it will be tough to keep them behind but we will give it a good go.”

07:17 PM BST

Piastri reacts to his front-row start

“I was pretty happy with it. There wasn’t too much more left in that lap. It was playing catch-up a little bit through the first part of qualifying and that last lap felt like more or less the best I could have done. Max has done a good job and it’s another high-speed circuit for them where they seem to be having a little bit more success.”

07:16 PM BST

Russell reacts to third

“Before qualifying I’d have taken P3… being realistic this was probably the maximum today. We know on these higher-speed circuits we don’t have the pace of the McLarens. It was a really tricky session with the red flag in the middle of the session… Pole is a great place to start.”

07:14 PM BST

Q3 – Classification

  1. VER 1:27.294
  2. PIA +0.010
  3. RUS +0.113
  4. LEC +0.376
  5. ANT +0.572
  6. SAI +0.870
  7. HAM +0.907
  8. TSU +0.910
  9. GAS +1.073
  10. NOR (NO TIME)

07:13 PM BST

POLE POSITION FOR MAX VERSTAPPEN

Nobody else can beat that, obviously. Sainz slots into an impressive sixth, Hamilton seventh and Tsunoda eighth. 

07:11 PM BST

Q3 – Verstappen goes fastest!

By just 0.010sec ahead of Piastri! What a lap that is. Not exactly from nowhere but boy did he commit. 

Russell third, Leclerc fourth. 

07:10 PM BST

Q3 – Piastri goes fastest!

By a tenth of a second from Russell… but what has Verstappen got? He is half a tenth up with one sector to go.

07:10 PM BST

Q3 – Russell goes fastest!

It’s an OK final sector and he loses a bit more time but he’s 0.152sec faster than Verstappen. 

Piastri is half a tenth up on Russell’s time after one sector…

Verstappen has just started his hot lap… his first sector is 0.177sec up on Russell!

Piastri loses time in the middle sector…

07:08 PM BST

Q3 – Verstappen comes in for a change of tyres

But no extra fuel, which means he was carrying the added weight in the first run. 

Russell is 0.145sec up on Verstappen’s time after one sector. 

Good stuff. Looks mega in a balanced Mercedes. 

He’s nearly three tenths up after two sectors now…

07:06 PM BST

Q3 – Verstappen goes fastest

By just 0.001sec. Not sure that will be good enough for pole. He has another attempt, as does Piastri.

Sainz’s first lap time on the used softs is 1.589sec off Verstappen. Not sure that tells us anything useful.

07:05 PM BST

Q3 – Verstappen fastest in the first sector

He only has Piastri’s lap time to compare to but that is a good reference. 

He has lost a bit of time in the middle sector, though, but still within half a tenth of Piastri’s previous best. 

07:03 PM BST

GREEN LIGHT: Q3 resumes

Verstappen did not start his flying lap so could well have two runs on pretty fresh tyres. He’s out early on to take advantage of that. I don’t think Piastri’s lap was all that, by the way. 

07:02 PM BST

Session about to resume

Norris will not be a part of it. Wouldn’t say it’s necessarily Piastri’s to lose but I think if he strings the lap together it’s his. 

07:00 PM BST

I feel sorry for Norris

But those are the mistakes you cannot make if you want to win a world championship. Of course, plenty of drivers have crashed and won world titles but his mistakes are becoming a bit too frequent and also too significant. 

8min32sec on the clock once we do get going again. 

06:56 PM BST

Russell never got to finish his lap

He was actually 0.019sec faster than Piastri over the first two sectors. A few other drivers were about to start their hot laps but it just Piastri with a 1:27.560 who has a lap on the board. 

06:54 PM BST

Norris on the radio…

“F—– idiot,” he says. He’s OK.

06:53 PM BST

Q3 – RED FLAG!

Norris is in the wall! Another mistake for the championship leader. He just committed too hard at one of the high-speed chicanes, got on the throttle and jumped over the kerb and slid into the wall sideways.

06:52 PM BST

Q3 – A 31.885 for Piastri in sector one

A 31.940 for Russell, so within a tenth…

A 27.624 in S2 for Piastri but Russell beats that…

Piastri crosses the line and I think clips the wall on the way… he posts a 1:27.560… but there are yellow flags.

06:51 PM BST

Q3 – Used tyres for a few

Norris, Verstappen, Piastri and Russell have fresh softs (and two of them) whilst everyone else will be doing their first runs on used tyres. 

06:49 PM BST

Q3 begins!

12 minutes, 10 drivers and one pole man at the end of it all. No red flags yet. Yet…

06:47 PM BST

This is a statistic and a half…

06:47 PM BST

It’s close, then…

Whether McLaren will stretch their legs and show their class remains to be seen. But 0.118sec between the top four is looking competitive. Either way we are about to find out. 

06:43 PM BST

Q2 – Classification

  1. NOR 1:27.481
  2. VER +0.048
  3. PIA +0.064
  4. RUS +0.118
  5. ANT +0.317
  6. LEC +0.385
  7. TSU +0.509
  8. SAI +0.543
  9. GAS +0.544
  10. HAM +0.621
    ELIMINATED:
  11. ALB
  12. LAW
  13. ALO
  14. HAD
  15. BEA

06:42 PM BST

Q2 – Hamilton is through

But only just. Alonso 13th but Tsunoda improves to seventh which means Hamilton is safely through in 10th and by just 0.007sec…

Albon is in 11th and out. 

06:41 PM BST

Q2 – Bearman stays in the drop zon

He will be out then. Lawson moves 10th, pushing Hamilton into 11th. Hamilton is in the final sector… what can he do?

Eighth! That might be OK. It might not… Gasly into eighth pushing him down. Alonso and Tsunoda could knock Hanilton out, but they both need to find lap time…

06:40 PM BST

Q2 – Is Norris staying put?

He’s not out there. Everyone else is. Still time to get round, though. 

Antonelli in 10th trying to improve in the Mercedes. He probably will, he’s 0.275sec off Norris after two sectors. Could get into the top four here with a good final sector. 

Russell improves to third and Antonelli goes fifth, they are 0.118sec and 0.317sec off the pace respectively. Piastri improves but cannot beat Norris or Verstappen. 

06:37 PM BST

Q2 – Albon gets into the top 10

He had the track to himself really and moves sixth, 0.628sec off Norris’s fastest lap time. 

06:34 PM BST

Q2 – Order after the first runs

  1. NOR 1:27.481
  2. VER +0.048
  3. PIA +0.209
  4. RUS +0.491
  5. LEC +0.549
  6. TSU +0.684
  7. HAM +0.748
  8. SAI +0.828
  9. ANT +0.833
  10. GAS +0.933

DROP ZONE: ALB, BEA, HAD, ALO, LAW

06:33 PM BST

Q2 – Norris goes fastest

0.048sec faster than Verstappen, who could be a problem for McLaren. Russell’s time was on used tyres, so that’s a decent lap. Piastri made lost a bit of time in the middle of the lap, too. 

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025.

06:32 PM BST

Q2 – A 1:27.690 for Piastri

Verstappen is ahead though after two sectors. Impressive. 

Russell crosses the line second, 0.282sec of Piastri but Verstappen beats the McLaren’s time by 0.161sec! Another great lap. 

Leclerc rounds the final corner and goes fourth, half a second off Verstappen. 

06:30 PM BST

Q2 – Albon posts the first time of the session

A 1:28.581 for the Williams driver. Piastri out on fresh soft tyres. he is 0.263sec up on Albon after one sector. Again, would expect him to finish at least 0.7sec ahead by the end of the lap. 

Gasly then moves top ahead of Albon by 0.107sec. 

06:28 PM BST

Q2 – A close shave for Antonelli

He is sent out by his Mercedes team and then a McLaren goes right in front of his front wing. No contact, though. 

Lawson, meanwhile, has been noted for an unsafe release as I think Antonelli will be. 

06:26 PM BST

Q2 begins!

Lance Stroll told to stay in there car in case a driver ahead of him gets penalised retrospectively for track limits. 

15 minutes this session lasts. A big battle for Hamilton to get through here, I feel. 

06:24 PM BST

That was a good lap from Verstappen

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025

You should never fully discount him from the conversation. 

06:21 PM BST

Q1 – Top 15

  1. VER 1:27.778
  2. NOR +0.027
  3. PIA +0.123
  4. ANT +0.350
  5. TSU +0.448
  6. ALB +0.501
  7. RUS +0.504
  8. SAI +0.576
  9. HAM +0.594
  10. GAS +0.643
  11. BEA +0.758
  12. ALO +0.770
  13. LEC +0.774
  14. LAW +0.783
  15. HAD +0.793

06:20 PM BST

Q1 ends – Drivers eliminated

Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Bortoleto. 

Apologies, Bearman did improve and to 11th. 

06:19 PM BST

Q1 – Gasly in 18th…

…improves to ninth. Bearman improves but stays 18th. What can Hamilton do? 15th and he needs to improve, really or risk being eliminated. 

Tidy final corner for Hamilton, into ninth. That will see him through. 

06:18 PM BST

Q1 – Piastri improves

But stays second. Antonelli with the fastest final sector to go third. 

Verstappen sneaks into the lead by 0.027 from Norris…

Brief yellow flags as Lawson goes 11th. Bearman in the drp zone, Hamilton not too far away from it…

06:17 PM BST

Q1 – Hamilton closer to the back than the front currently

This is a lap that requires absolute confidence in your machinery and it is clear that Hamilton is struggling with that.

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, April 19, 2025.

06:15 PM BST

Q1 – Four minutes remain

Albon into fourth though he lost a bit of time by tapping the wall. Gasly goes out into the pit lane with the tyre blanket caught in his floor. Far from ideal but he eventually gets going. 

06:14 PM BST

Q1 – Top 10 after the first runs

  1. NOR 1:27.805
  2. PIA +0.214
  3. VER +0.343
  4. RUS +0.477
  5. TSU +0.619
  6. ALO +0.743
  7. LEC +0.747
  8. ANT +0.792
  9. ALB +0.824
  10. HAM +0.837

DROP ZONE: DOO, LAW, GAS, OCO, BOR

06:13 PM BST

Q1 – Hamilton moves into 10th

0.837sec off Norris’s fastest time. A lot of pace to find still. 

06:12 PM BST

Q1 – Norris crosses the line and improves

He moves ahead of his team-mate and his latest time is 0.214sec faster than Piastri. Hamilton is now down to 18th. He is improving but this is not a particularly quick lap. 

06:11 PM BST

Q1 – Here is the current top 10

  1. PIA
  2. NOR
  3. VER
  4. RUS
  5. TSU
  6. LEC
  7. ANT
  8. ALB
  9. SAI
  10. HAD

In the drop zone: Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Ocon, Bortoleto. 

06:09 PM BST

Q1 – Decent lap from Russell

Fastest middle sector from the Mercedes driver. Not a brilliant final sector but in fourth, splitting the Red Bulls and 0.283sec off the fastest time.

There’s a plastic bag on the track, or so it appears. Antonelli swerves to avoid it and goes seventh fastest overall. It looks to have blown away now.

06:08 PM BST

Q1 – What has Verstappen got?

Looks a tidy lap and crosses the line 0.122sec down on Norris. Tsunoda is on a decent lap, too. Piastri challenging for fastest time now as you’d expect. Just a bit behind Norris after two sectors.

Tsunoda in third, 0.398sec off Norris. Piastri then goes fastest by 0.007sec from Norris.

06:07 PM BST

Q1 – Norris goes fastest

Norris on a flyer. Albon goes fastest of all but I’d expect Norris to be at least half a second up on that, if not more. 

Norris crosses the ine fastest and goes 0.840sec faster than Albon… what have the Ferraris got? Within half a second wouldn’t be too bad all things considered. 

Leclerc second, but indeed, 0.526sec off Norris’s time. Hamilton is a further three tenths back from Leclerc…

06:05 PM BST

Q1 – Ocon posts a 1:29.924…

…but is then immediately beaten by 0.7sec or so by his team-mate Oliver Bearman. Doohan and then Hulkenberg beat Bearman’s time, though. 

06:03 PM BST

Q1 – 16 mins remain

Piastri, Russell, the Red Bulls, Antonelli and the Racing Bulls still in the pit lane. Ocon will get the first lap on the board. 

06:00 PM BST

GREEN LIGHT! Q1 is under way

A gaggle of drivers queueing to get out at the end of the pit lane.

05:57 PM BST

A few minutes to go

Predictions? Well, the front row should be McLarens in either order. I think Piastri has this one. Here is my top six: 

  1. PIA
  2. NOR
  3. RUS
  4. VER
  5. LEC
  6. SAI

05:51 PM BST

Ferrari drivers are ready

Where can they get their cars on the grid today? Leclerc has looked decent but relatively distant. Second row should be the target. As for Hamilton… if he gets in the top 10 I don’t think he will be too disappointed on current form. 

05:47 PM BST

Jeddah all set for action

We have had just one red flag so far this weekend, when Yuki Tsunoda crashed towards the end of FP2. 

I’d be surprised if we got through qualifying without another one given the fast, furious and dangerous nature of this track. 

05:44 PM BST

Drivers’ average qualifying position in 2025

Piastri leads the way but Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Albon and Hadjar are all doing fine jobs over one lap. Piastri looks to have the edge over Norris over one lap, but there is not much in it really. In fact, going by average time difference just 0.141sec so far. 

05:40 PM BST

This was an interesting moment in FP3

Albon nearly went into the wall when trying to get out of the way. 

He may have even glanced it. 

05:39 PM BST

Current driver standings

05:31 PM BST

Qualifying pace by team in 2025

This measures how fast each team is over one lap in qualifying, on average, compared to the fastest lap of the weekend. 

05:26 PM BST

Zak Brown with some interesting comments

He was speaking to Sky Sports F1 and, in other words, said that he is expecting there to be a clash between his two drivers at some point this season and that he is looking forwards to getting it out of the way. 

Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talks with Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 17, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

We had a couple of instances of wheel-banging last year but we have not had a full-blown racing incident between them. It will surely come at some point in 2025 if their advantage continues. 

05:19 PM BST

Third practice times

  1. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 27.489secs
  2. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:27.513
  3. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:28.116
  4. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:28.334
  5. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari HP 1:28.372
  6. Alexander Albon (Tha) Atlassian Williams 1:28.389
  7. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Atlassian Williams 1:28.570
  8. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:28.625
  9. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:28.670
  10. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes GP 1:28.679
  11. Isack Hadjar (Fra) RB 1:28.769
  12. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Ferrari HP 1:28.780
  13. Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:28.861
  14. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:28.888
  15. Jack Doohan (Aus) Alpine 1:28.898
  16. Oliver Bearman (Gbr) Haas F1 1:28.989
  17. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:29.220
  18. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas F1 1:29.336
  19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Kick Sauber 1:29.410
  20. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:29.478

05:11 PM BST

FP3 recap: McLaren dominate

Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
McLaren showed good pace in final practice for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Getty Images/Rudy Carezzevoli

McLaren put down another statement of intent as they dominated final practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. Lando Norris topped the timesheets with a lap of 1min27.489sec which was 0.024sec faster than his team-mate Oscar Piastri. 

The gap to the fastest non-McLaren car was enormous. George Russell was third for Mercedes but a full six tenths of a second slower than both McLaren drivers. Max Verstappen was fourth, a further two tenths back with Charles Leclerc in fifth and Alexander Albon in sixth being the final two cars within a second of the championship leaders. 

There was further woe for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, down in 12th and nearly 1.3sec off the ultimate pace. When informed by his race engineer that he was losing 0.7sec in the first and 0.4sec in the second sector to Norris he simply replied “Jeez”.

Rounding out the top 10 were Carlos Sainz for Williams, Pierre Gasly for Alpine, the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda and then Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes. 

03:40 PM BST

Qualifying to come

That session starts at 6pm BST and we will be back with you a little after 5pm to build up to that. 

03:39 PM BST

Those gaps, visually

At least it was close between the McLarens. 

03:37 PM BST

We get the usual practice starts on the grid

I don’t need to point out how ominous that pace is from the McLarens. I’d be surprised if they were quite that far ahead come qualifying though. Lots of work to do for Ferrari. Well, for everyone really. 

03:34 PM BST

Leclerc on the radio

“This I feel is the limit of the car. I cannot go faster in corners. It’s just sliding on all four tyres,” he says. 

03:33 PM BST

FP3 – Classification

This is the top 10:

  1. NOR 1:27.489
  2. PIA +0.024
  3. RUS +0.627
  4. VER +0.845
  5. LEC +0.883
  6. ALB +0.900
  7. SAI +1.081
  8. GAS +1.136
  9. TSU +1.181
  10. ANT +1.190

Other notable drivers: Hamilton in 12th, Alonso 14th, Bearman 16th and Stroll 20th and last. 

03:31 PM BST

FP3 ends – It’s another McLaren 1-2

No other car within half a second off either Norris or Piastri. Big. 

03:31 PM BST

FP3 – Verstappen improves to go fourth

Still 0.845sec off Norris, though. 

03:29 PM BST

FP3 – Into the closing stages

Not that many changes of position in the last few minutes, but Lawson is up to 13th, just behind Hamilton. 

03:27 PM BST

FP3 – Piastri glances the wall!

I think. At the very least, he changes direction after getting very close to it. No harm done, though. 

03:24 PM BST

FP3 – Some feedback for Hamilton

He is told he is losing 0.7sec in the first sector alone and 0.4sec in the middle sector. “Jeez,” he says. He looks to be in quite a pickle this weekend.

Norris improves a little to go fastest of all by 0.024sec. Sainz improves to go seventh.

03:20 PM BST

FP3 – Updated top 10

  1. PIA 1:27.513
  2. NOR +0.158
  3. RUS +0.701
  4. LEC +0.859
  5. ALB +0.876
  6. VER +0.900
  7. TSU +1.157
  8. ANT +1.166
  9. SAI +1.383
  10. LAW +1.587

03:19 PM BST

FP3 – Leclerc goes fourth

But an enormous 0.859sec off Piastri. It’s worse for Hamilton: he’s in 13th and is not only 1.675sec down on Piastri but is also a whopping 0.816sec down on his team-mate…

A picture taken through a window shows Ferrari's British driver Lewis Hamilton during the third practice session of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Formula One Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025

03:16 PM BST

FP3 – Albon in fourth

Good lap, that. 0.876sec off Piastri’s time. Neither Red Bull can beat that with Verstappen nine tenths down and Tsunoda a further two tenths back, just ahead of Antonelli in the second Mercedes. 

Verstappen complains about “weird engine braking”. 

Leclerc on his latest hot lap is 0.719sec down on Piastri after two sectors. That is an age in this sport. 

03:15 PM BST

FP3 – Performance runs still ongoing

Russell looks to be going fastest but will likely be beaten by the two McLarens. Piastri is on a mega lap. Absolutely mega. 

Russell goes fastest by a quarter of a second from Piastri’s current best…

But Piastri beats that by 0.701sec! Eesh. Norris 0.158sec slower than Piastri. 

Looks like any non-McLaren car is going to be fighting for scraps this weekend?

03:12 PM BST

FP3 – Onto some more running

Track temperature at 47c, which is a fair reduction from the start of the session.

03:07 PM BST

FP3 – 24 mins remain

It’s a good lap from Albon who moves sixth and Charles Leclerc leaps ahead of Verstappen and is now 0.248sec away from Piastri’s time. 

Sainz appears to be going well in the other Williams. He crosses the line to go fifth, 0.426sec off the fastest time of the day so far. Plenty of drivers still pushing out there, albeit on old soft tyres. 

03:05 PM BST

FP3 – Mercedes looking a bit distant this weekend

Not sure why or if it’s down to an engine setting or something else. Anyway, Russell is fifth and Antonelli eighth. 

03:02 PM BST

FP3 – Norris does another push lap

His eighth lap on this set of softs and it’s better but still 0.207sec off his team-mate’s time.

Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Verstappen then improves his lap time but stays third. Now 0.277sec off Piastri’s time. Tsunoda has improved to fifth, 

03:00 PM BST

FP3 – Piastri blocked by Tsunoda

“Bro. This guy blind or what?” the Australian says on the radio in his own laid-back style. Piastri improves his time by a tenth or two to increase his advantage over Norris and the rest of the field. 

Nico Hulkenberg has slipped into sixth which then becomes seventh. Tsunoda down in 17th for Red Bull, though with only five laps on the board. 

02:56 PM BST

FP3 – Top 10 as it stands

  1. PIA 1:28.605
  2. NOR +0.158
  3. LEC +0.255
  4. VER +0.472
  5. HAM +0.583
  6. RUS +0.721
  7. BEA +0.967
  8. DOO +1.061
  9. GAS +1.151
  10. OCO +1.238

02:54 PM BST

FP3 – Piastri goes fastest

0.255sec faster than Leclerc. No real proper laps from Mercedes yet but that is about to change. 

Norris looks to be improving on his lap. 

It’s only sixth for Russell. 

02:52 PM BST

FP3 – It’s fastest time of all for Leclerc

A 1:28.860 for Leclerc, so fastest by 0.217sec from Verstappen. He got a bit lairy in the final corner but I don’t think he touched the wall. 

02:52 PM BST

FP3 – Verstappen’s first lap in anger

And it’s a quick one – he is 0.041sec faster than Oscar Piastri.

Ferrari looking quick-ish too. Hamilton goes third and just over a tenth of a second off Verstappen. What has Leclerc got? He gets very close to the wall at the final turn…

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 on track during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabi

02:48 PM BST

FP3 – Piastri now in P1

0.548sec faster than Doohan. Norris then posts the fastest second and third sector times but is second ultimately – 0.085sec off his team-mate. 

02:46 PM BST

FP3 – Doohan tops the times

Nearly six tenths faster than Bearman. Alpine team-mate Gasly was fastest in FP1 yesterday which suggests there is some pace in the Alpine this weekend. 

Piastri posts a first sector time a quarter of a second up from Doohan. 

02:44 PM BST

FP3 – Hamilton crosses the line second

His first flying lap on the softs was 0.115sec off Oliver Bearman’s fastest time so far. Ocon just behind Hamilton. Plenty of cars yet to run yet. 

02:41 PM BST

FP3 – Hamilton is out

And he is on the soft tyres, too. He didn’t really get on with them yesterday so has plenty of understanding to gain, though he is using them quite early in the session here.

02:38 PM BST

FP3 – Doohan has beaten Bortoleto’s time

1.547sec ahead. Alonso, Stroll and the two Haas cars out on track. Liam Lawson, it seems, is about to leave the garage too. 

02:35 PM BST

FP3 – Four cars on track

Bortoleto has set the first lap of 1:32.160 in the Sauber. 

02:34 PM BST

FP3 – 57 mins remain

As expected, Bortoleto is out there early on. I imagine he will be attempting many laps in this session, regardless of the unrepresentative nature of the track conditions when it comes to qualifying later on. 

02:31 PM BST

GREEN LIGHT: FP3 is go!

We are under way in final practice. Yuki Tsunoda’s car is in bits but I imagine he will be out OK in this session.

02:28 PM BST

We are nearly ready to go in FP3

I imagine Gabriel Bortoleto (below) will be keen to get out early having missed all of FP2 with a technical issue. 

02:26 PM BST

Norris sounds a note of caution

Well, sort of. He has struck this tone throughout the year. “I think at the minute we feel confident but the others are not far behind,” Norris said after second practice. 

“I was probably hoping for a bigger gap than what we had today. We know we’re fast, we know we have a great car but certainly not comfortable, not as comfortable as what we would like. Nothing more than that, keep our heads down, focus on ourselves and see what we can do.”

“I think today has really been a day of trying to work on my driving, working on myself more than probably trying to work on the car. I think a good start to the weekend, productive, gaining confidence, gaining feeling. So from what I wanted to achieve today I think on the right tracks.”

02:19 PM BST

Current constructor standings

Williams and Haas both with excellent starts. Haas must be delighted, frankly, after their appalling Australian GP. 

02:10 PM BST

Aston Martin prepared to offer Max Verstappen huge deal

Aston Martin’s Saudi backers are prepared to offer Max Verstappen £230 million over three years to drive for them in what has been described as the “deal of the century”.

Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which already owns 20 per cent of Aston Martin Lagonda and sponsors the F1 team through oil giant Aramco, is keen to take over ownership of the Silverstone-based outfit from Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Italian reports claim.

The British-based team have long been linked with Verstappen. Having built a new factory, a new wind tunnel, a new simulator, and secured the services of the most celebrated F1 designer of the modern era in the shape of Adrian Newey, signing the best driver on the grid right now would be the logical next step.

02:04 PM BST

Current driver standings

Piastri has steadily eaten into a 23-point advantage that Norris held after the first race. That is now down to just three points. Russell and Verstappen doing the best they have with limited machinery (in different ways). Ferrari have not shown their best selves (by a long way), one sprint race aside. 

01:56 PM BST

Watch: Tsunoda crashes out of FP2

Tsunoda looked to be having a decent day yesterday until this happened towards the end of second practice. Will definitely dent his confidence on a track that requires spades of it. I think he has done a passable job so far in the second Red Bull seat, even a good one if you consider the context of the situation overall. 

01:50 PM BST

Final times from second practice

  1. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 28.267secs
  2. Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:28.430
  3. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:28.547
  4. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:28.749
  5. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Williams 1:28.942
  6. Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:28.963
  7. George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:28.973
  8. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:29.106
  9. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:29.193
  10. Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:29.220
  11. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes GP 1:29.242
  12. Isack Hadjar (Fra) RB 1:29.306
  13. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Ferrari 1:29.371
  14. Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:29.488
  15. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:29.662
  16. Oliver Bearman (Gbr) Haas F1 1:29.754
  17. Jack Doohan (Aus) Alpine 1:29.912
  18. Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:30.007
  19. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas F1 1:30.019
  20. Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Kick Sauber

01:42 PM BST

Good afternoon

Welcome to our live coverage for third and final practice for the 2025 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. So far we have had two practice sessions and almost everything we have seen has reinforced what we knew about the existing order, though with the usual caveats. 

McLaren were fastest in second practice under lights on Friday and that is important because it is the most representative practice session. FP2 is run at roughly the same time and same conditions as qualifying (which comes later today) and the race on Sunday. In the end it was Lando Norris, championship leader, who was fastest, a little ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. Piastri did not appear to fully maximise his qualifying simulation, mind you.

Max Verstappen was next in the Red Bull, around 0.2sec off whilst the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was fourth, which offered some encouragement for Ferrari. That said, he was nearly half a second off the ultimate pace of Norris. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton had a much more troubled session (we are getting used to these now, as I am sure he is), well outside the top 10 and more than a second slower than the lead McLaren. 

When it came to the race simulation runs in FP2 McLaren looked the class of the field again. They were even further ahead of their rivals on the long runs which does not bode well for Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari. Yet again it looks like a straight shoot-out between Piastri and Norris (as is the case for the championship in general) but we have said that before and the final reckoning in qualifying has been a lot closer. Let us not forget that the circuit in Saudi Arabia has a tendency to bite drivers when they push in qualifying. It is that type of track. 

Anyway, FP3 begins in about 45 minutes and we will be here for all of the updates. 

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