Oscar Piastri wins in the Saudi Arabia GP from penalized Max Verstappen. The Australian has become the new driver’s championship leader after winning his 3rd race this season. The strong and calm drive has been the hallmark of Piastri this season, and he has firmly stamped his authority as the championship favorite.

There was early drama in the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as the polesitter Max Verstappen cut the apex into the first corner. After holding the lead, Max got a 5-second time penalty and dropped behind the McLaren after the pit stop.

Lando Norris had an incredible recovery from P10 to P4 at the end of the race. Charles Leclerc claimed the first podium for Ferrari in 2025 after a strong drive in the race. The Saudi Arabia GP wasn’t the most chaotic race of the 2025 F1 season, but it had numerous winners and losers.

Winners of the Saudi Arabia GP

1.    Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri became the first Australian in 15 years to lead a World Championship after victory in Jeddah. Piastri had blistering pace throughout the weekend and performed some daring overtakes in the race. He was perfect in the race and won it in the first corner. Some may argue that Max didn’t deserve the penalty, but Oscar brought the fight to Max, which others are scared of.

2.    Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc dragged his Ferrari to the first podium in the 2025 F1 season. After extending his first stint on the medium tires, he showed subline pace on the hard tires. The Ferrari driver has shown great potential throughout the year and finally got the best result with that car.

3.    Red Bull

Max Verstappen may not have won the race, but the recovery from the team from the Bahrain GP was quite impressive. The car looked good in the hands of the Dutch driver, and he looked destined to win. However, he couldn’t manage to keep the car on the track in the first corner. This eventually led him to get a penalty and be overtaken by McLaren.

4.    Williams

Williams was the best of the rest in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and claimed an impressive points finish. The British team orchestrated a great mid-race strategy by keeping both the cars in DRS range. This allowed them to finish 8th and 9th place in the race.

Losers of the Saudi Arabia GP

1.    Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda was on course to have a great weekend with Red Bull. He had a decent qualifying session, but his first lap shunt left us to imagine what could have been. The incident would go down as a racing incident, but he was undoubtedly a loser in this race.

2.    Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle at Ferrari after finishing 31 seconds from his teammate. The Jeddah circuit hasn’t been the best for the Britan, and it continued in his outing with Ferrari. After his sprint win in China, it looked like he adapted to life at Ferrari, but he is clearly struggling.

3.    Mercedes

Mercedes had one of the worst weekends in the Saudi Arabia GP in the 2025 season. Both their drivers finished 5th and 6th, separated by half a minute from the front. This is especially disappointing after the pace Russell showed in the Saudi qualifying. The point hauls are all positives, but they were constantly drifting towards the back during the race.

4.    Alpine

Alpine looked like having a strong car, especially with Gasly, to take good points in the race. However, the first lap shunt with Yuki Tsunoda meant that they went home without any points. And with Jack Doohan struggling this weekend, the team might wonder what could’ve been this weekend.