20/04/2025
NEWS STORY
As we said last week ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and after, we do not see Lando as world champion material. Following yesterday's mistake nothing has changed.
Max on the other hand...
Give him a sniff and he's there. Whether today will be another Suzuka we shall have to wait and see but we know he'll give it his all.
Of course, he'll face a stiff challenge from Oscar who has a genuine opportunity today courtesy of his teammate's "idiotic" qualifying mishap, and though he doesn't need to win we know that the Australian is every bit as driven as the man starting beside him.
It was another exemplary performance from George, however, again, we do not see the Mercedes river as champion material. Currently third in the standings, another good result today could be enough to get Toto to do an 'announce' before the summer break.
Despite the upgrades Ferrari continues to struggle, and while Fred bangs on about cooking, one has to hope that his claim that the SF-25 has better race pace than single lap proves true, for at the moment there is a feeling of genuine despair coming out of the Maranello squad.
Finally, Carlos gets it all together, and surely nobody would begrudge the Spaniard a decent points haul, the Williams having looked strong all weekend.
For Yuki it is almost mission impossible, for as well as seeking to add to his points tally, the Japanese driver will be needed to cause Lando as much time as possible as he seeks to slice through the field, This could be the day Yuki finally earns his Red Bull stripes... or loses them.
As Aston Martin continues its slide into the abyss, RB looks to have the advantage, while Alpine should come out on top and possible give Williams something to worry about.
Haas had a poor qualifying but we are expecting a better race, while Stake continues to make up the numbers.
As ever the start will be vital, and Mas will be keen to establish his superiority from the outset, however neither Oscar nor George will be willing to roll over and even Charles could have a say.
While we have only had once red flag this weekend, the Safety Car has been a regular occurrence in Jeddah, and we don't expect that to change today.
The walls call to the drivers like sirens, as the wind, direction changes, lack of grip, blind corners and over enthusiasm add to the heady mix.
In terms of strategy, most of the big guns have saved two sets of hards, which are effectively last year's mediums. The white-banded rubber seems to offer the best performance and, without too much degradation a one-stop strategy is on paper the quickest way, with the order medium-hard being favourite, pitting between laps 14 and 20.
There are a couple of reasons why many have opted to save two sets of this compound: firstly to be ready for any possible safety car situations, and secondly, to have a backup in case there's a significant step up in degradation.
"Those starting from the back might aim to make up positions by swapping the order of use of the compounds, (i.e. medium then hard) pitting from lap 30.
A two-stopper is not too far off in terms of total time taken, with a difference of around 5 seconds and would again involve using the C3 and C4. The C5 could be an option for drivers looking to make the most of its superior performance over the first few laps to make up places, or if there were to be a safety car in the closing stages of the race.
"The best place to do it would be Turn 1, but it is a short run so we'll see," says Piastri of nailing his Dutch rival. "I think our car will be quick, I think we'll have opportunities late in the race as well.
"I don't think there will be one chance to win," he adds, "I think there will be a few. I'm confident we have a strong car underneath us and tyre deg seems to be one of our strengths."
The pitlane opens and Bortoleto leads the way, followed by Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon and Hadjar.
Air temperature is 29 degrees C, while the track temperature is 39 degrees. There is 0% chance of rain.
"I'm feeling good," says Russell, "let's see how the first lap pans out and then no one knows if it is a one or a two-stop."
"It's a little bit warmer than yesterday," adds Verstappen, "I think it is going to be a battle.
"I hope our pace is a bit better on the medium than it was in practice, as then it wasn't very good."
"He's definitely going to take it to Max," says Zak Brown of Piastri, "we have a good race car underneath us."
"It's impossible to say," replies Norris when asked what he hopes for from the race. "We have a good car, I still feel good, a little bit sore.
"It's a long race, anything could happen, Safety Cars, VSC, so just got to be on our toes."
All are starting on mediums bar Norris, Hadjar, Stroll and Hulkenberg. Fresh rubber for all bar Alonso - as ever - and Stroll - as ever.
They head off on the formation lap. All get away.
The grid forms. As Verstappen arrives on the grid, Bortoleto is still at Turn 22.
They're away. Off the line Piastri and Verstappen are side-by-side and as they head towards Turn 1, aware that Russell is coming up on the outside, the Dutchman moves to his right. Piastri holds his line through the first part of that first chicane but Verstappen has nowhere to go and cuts the corner rejoining in the lead.
By rights the Dutchman should yield to Piastri but he doesn't.
"I was ahead," claims Piastri. "He forced me off, there was no intention of taking that corner," claims Verstappen.
"He was never going to make that corner," insists Piastri.
Meanwhile Antonelli also missed the first corner being in a similar position to Verstappen but with Leclerc.
Tsunoda and Gasly crash at Turn 5, bringing out the yellow flag and then the Safety Car.
Replay shows the Alpine and Red Bull interlocked wheels, the sort of thing one expects on the first lap at a track like this.
Tsunoda is able to get going again, as behind the Safety Car, it's: Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli, Hamilton, Sainz, Norris, Albon and Alonso.
Doohan, Ocon, Bortoleto and Tsunoda all pit, the Japanese switching off his engine.
The stewards have noted the Piastri/Verstappen incident at the first corner.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 3.
As he disappears into the distance, Verstappen is handed a 5s time penalty. However, he still leads in clear air.
Russell is all over Piastri, but the Australian holds his nerve.
Hadjar passes Alonso for 10th.
"Well that is ******* lovely," responds Verstappen when told of his penalty.
In 5th, Antonelli is the meat in a Ferrari sandwich as Norris passes Sainz for seventh on the pit straight.
Verstappen and Antonelli both have times deleted for exceeding track limits.
Having passed Alonso, Hadjar now leads a DRS train consisting of the Spaniard, Lawson and Bearman.
After 9 laps, now 2.7s clear of Russell, Piastri is inching to within DRS range of the leader.
Warned about overheating due to the cars in front, Albon asks if his team is aware of his situation, in that he is under pressure from the car behind (Hadjar).
"Tyres are hot, clean air would be incredible," says Norris as he closes on Hamilton.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Jeddah here.
Norris passes Hamilton, but the Ferrari driver has DRS and retakes the position.
Again Norris passes the Ferrari and again the seven-time world champion retakes the place, despite a nasty wobble in the process.
"Strat 8, Strat 8, play the game," Norris is told. The Briton responds and this time passes the Ferrari and holds the position.
In quick succession, Lawson passes Bearman and Alonso for 11th.
"I'm just sliding around out here, I can't turn the rear," reports Hamilton.
Alonso wants to pit.
4.1s down on Leclerc, Antonelli has Norris 1.2s behind... and closing.
Norris passes Antonelli with ease to claim fifth.
Bearman pits at the end of 18.
As Piastri pits, Verstappen is told to keep going, and praised for his good job, Red Bull seemingly having sold McLaren the dummy in terms of pitting.
Antonelli and Alonso also pit as Piastri rejoins in 6th, following a slow stop.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 20, the Briton rejoining in seventh.
Lawson also pits.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 21, as Piastri makes a bold move on Hamilton going around the outside in Turn 1.
Serving his penalty, Verstappen rejoins in fifth behind Piastri and Hamilton, while Leclerc leads from Norris.
"Consider Plan B," urges Russell, "let's see how these tyres go."
Hamilton is doing Verstappen no favours, placing his Ferrari exactly where he needs to in order to thwart the Dutchman.
Verstappen passes Hamilton who immediately pits, rejoining in 8th.
On his fresh rubber Piastri posts a new fastest lap (33.119) as he sets about closing the 6.1s gap to his teammate who has yet to stop.
As Alonso passes Bortoleto for 16th, the pair touch forcing the Spaniard to run wide.
"Woah, he moved under braking," says Alonso. "That was close, so close, check the ca\r."
It's worth pointing out that Alonso is the Brazilian's manager.
"Car is OK," Alonso is assured.
Bearman passes Bortoleto for 17th.
Lawson passes Doohan but the Alpine driver retakes the place. Elsewhere, Sainz passes Hulkenberg for 10th.
Still on his mediums, Leclerc is setting a strong pace out front, with Norris (hards) looking equally good.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 29, the Monegasque rejoining in fifth as Antonelli passes Hadjar for fifth.
Norris leads Piastri by 3.5s but has yet to stop.
Sainz passes Stroll - who has yet to stop - for ninth as Bearman passes Doohan for 16th.
Replay shows Antonelli brush the wall as Albon passes Stroll.
A new fastest lap from Leclerc (32.431) as Verstappen maintains a 4.5s gap to Piastri.
"I'm starting to feel the dirty air a little bit," admits Piastri as he is told that his teammate, just 2.3s ahead, is going to extend his stint.
As Hulkenberg pits, Alonso passes Ocon for 13th.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 34, he rejoins in fifth, 4.9s down on Leclerc.
Piastri now leads, 4.4s clear of Verstappen, as Hadjar pits.
After 35 laps, Stroll is the only driver yet to stop.
Bortoleto is shown the black and white for moving under braking.
Another fastest lap for Leclerc (32.390) as he closes to within 1.15s of Russell.
Courtesy of DRS, Leclerc blasts past Russell to claim third.
Congratulated by his engineer, Leclerc replies: "Thank you Bryan." Next up is Verstappen who is 4.7s up the road.
Lawson is given a 10s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. This relates to his battle with Doohan.
Piastri reports that a flashing red light on a balcony is annoying him because it looks like a red (stop) light.
Norris has been noted for crossing the line at the pit exit.
Back on track, the McLaren driver passes Russell for fourth.
In his bid to close the 3.9s gap to Leclerc, Norris posts a new fastest lap (31.778).
Bortoleto moves aide for his Stake teammate.
No further investigation needed in terms of Norris and his pit lane exit.
After 44 laps, Piastri leads by 3.9s, while Leclerc is 5.1s down on Verstappen and 3s ahead of Norris. Russell is fifth, Antonelli sixth and Hamilton seventh, 2.2s down on the Italian teenager. Sainz, Albon and Hadjar make up the top ten.
"Oh man, he needs to get out of the way," says Piastri of Stroll who has just pitted and is on mediums.
Lap 46 sees Verstappen post his best lap of the race as he closes to within 3.4s of Piastri who has finally passed Stroll.
"Front-left is not looking good," reports Russell. "No tyre concerns at the moment," he is told.
As they begin the final lap Verstappen is 2.4s down on Piastri, while Leclerc is 5.2s ahead of Norris.
Piastri takes the flag, the win and the lead in the championship.
Verstappen is second, ahead of Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Hamilton, Sainz, Albon and Hadjar.
Alonso is eleventh, ahead of Lawson, Bearman, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Doohan and Bortoleto.
"In qualifying we don't manage to extract more out the car," says Leclerc. "But I'm very happy with the race, we maximised everything.
"I never expected to finish P3," he admits, "I thought this race was about defending from the cars behind like Kimi.
"We need to keep pushing and hopefully upgrades are coming soon."
"I'm going to keep it quite short," adds Verstappen, "I want to say a big thank you to the fans. I love the track here, it is what it is and I'll see you in Miami."
"I'm looking for a couch," laughs Piastri. "It was a pretty tough race.
"I'm very happy to have won. I made my case into Turn 1, it was tricky to follow... I couldn't stay with Max at the end of the first stint, I chewed up my tyres.
"We still need a bit more," he admits, "Max was a little bit too close for my liking. Once I got on the inside, I was not coming out of Turn 1 in second.
"In the end that is what got me the race, so very happy with the work we do on the starts."
Hardly a thriller, but it had its moments.
Of course, Verstappen and Red Bull will rue that first corner, while Norris will rue yesterday evening, leaving Kangaroos (sorry!) to celebrate that an Australian is leading the championship for the first time since 2010.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Jeddah here.