Randnoris took part in Saturday’s qualifying session as a pole position favorite.
However, with his first push-lap wobble in Q3, McLaren’s driver spotted the wall, pulled out a red flag, ending his dream of Paul’s position. Grid remained chasing one McLaren driver as his teammate Oscar Piastri was the only driver ahead of the crash.
When the session finally resumed, Max Verstappen was only 0.001 seconds on the interim pole. However, there was plenty of time to add a few more twists to the story.
First it was George Russell who sandwiched Verstappen for the provisional pole. Then it was a chance for Piastri to respond, and he regained the interim pole over a decade ago from Russell.
However, the defensive driver champions were not finished.
Verstappen had another chance to respond on the final push lap, and he squealed to take pole position just 0.010 from the final turn.
Piastri is second qualified, while Russell is third. Charles Leclerc starts with Russell in P4.
Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli came in fifth place, with Carlos Senn Jr. in sixth as the new Williams driver provided the best qualifying performance of the season. Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda start each other in row 4, while Pierre Guthrie and Norris close out the top 10 with P9 and P10 respectively.
Earlier in the session, Hamilton frayed out at Q2 and finished Alex Albon, who is due to start P11, just 0.007 seconds ahead. Yuki Tsunoda joined Verstappen in the third quarter, marking the second race week in which both Red Bull drivers advanced to the third quarter.
That’s not usually a notable fact, but it was a slow start to the Bulls season.
The other four drivers that were discontinued in the second quarter were Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Isaac Hajar and Oliver Baerman.
The five drivers eliminated in the first quarter were Lancestrol, Jacques Douhan, Nicohulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Boltreto. There were several notable drivers under pressure in the first quarter, including Hamilton, Pierre Guthrie and Bareman, but all three were able to move forward.
The tentative starting grid for the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix is:
Results of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix qualifying
| line | position | driver | team | position | driver | team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| line | position | driver | team | position | driver | team |
| Line 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| Line 2 | 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| Line 3 | 5 | You Antoneri | Mercedes | 6 | Carlos Sine Jr. | Williams |
| Line 4 | 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 8 | Snow and Horn | Red Bull |
| Line 5 | 9 | Pierre Guthry | Takayama | 10 | Rand Norris | McLaren |
| Line 6 | 11 | Alex Albon | Williams | 12 | Liam Lawson | vcarb |
| Line 7 | 13 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 14 | Isack Hadjar | vcarb |
| Line 8 | 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 16 | Reims walks | Aston Martin |
| Line 9 | 17 | Jack Doohn | Takayama | 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber |
| Line 10 | 19 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 20 | Gabriel Boltreto | Sauber |
