F1 Saudi Arabian GP - Race Center Live show
Follow the fifth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit with our Race Center Live show
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Live Commentary
By: Edward Hardy
And as the podium celebrations begin, we'll leave it there to finish off the first triple header of the 2025 F1 season.
Next up is Miami on the 4 May.
Leclerc: "I was very happy with the race today, I think we maximised absolutely everything.
"We need to keep pushing."
Verstappen: "I'm going to keep it quite short, I wanted to say a big thanks to the fans in Jeddah and the rest, is what it is."
Piastri: "It was a pretty tough race, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start, made my case into Turn 1 and that was enough.
"Once I got on the inside, I wasn't coming out of Turn 1 in second. Very happy with all of the work we've been doing on starts."
Piastri is his usual calm self over team radio while celebrating the victory, which is the fifth win of his career.
Oscar Piastri has won the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!
He is joined on the podium by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Piastri now leads the F1 drivers' championship.
Final lap
A third win of the season is ever-closer for Piastri, who leads second-placed Verstappen by 2.5s.
Lap 48
Piastri came on the radio rather snappy, complaining about traffic ahead. He has now passed it though and being 3.2s ahead of Verstappen with three laps left, the win should be his.
Meanwhile, McLaren team-mate Norris is on the charge for third and is 1.8s behind Leclerc, who is looking for his first podium of the 2025 season.
Lap 44
Norris can breathe a sigh of relief, as there will be no further investigation on him potentially crossing the line at pit exit.
The McLaren driver is currently fourth and three-seconds behind Leclerc in third.
Lap 41
Norris is on the move again, overtaking Russell for fourth down the pit straight.
However, the McLaren driver has been noted for crossing the line at pit exit earlier on. So, if guilty, a time penalty is coming his way.
Lap 39
Lawson has been given a 10s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 2.
That appears to be the end of his fight for points, as the Racing Bulls driver is currently 11th and 5.6s off team-mate Hadjar in the final point position of 10th.
Lap 38
Speaking of the podium spots, Leclerc has just overtaken George Russell down the pit straight for third.
Leclerc is seven-seconds behind Verstappen, while Russell leads Norris by three-seconds.
Lap 37
As things stand, Piastri will take the F1 championship lead for the first time in his career as he leads by 4.5s while Norris is down in fifth.
It's been a solid recovery drive for Norris having started in 10th, but what would be considered a good race for him?
He is currently on the medium rubber while others are on hards and Norris is 5.6s behind the podium spots.
Lap 36
Gabriel Bortoleto has been issued a black-and-white flag for moving under braking in his earlier battle with Fernando Alonso.
Lap 35
Piastri was starting to get restless behind Norris, having closed the gap to two-seconds.
And to the Aussie's delight, his team-mate has now pitted for medium rubber, rejoining in fifth.
Lap 33
It's not just Norris who is yet to pit, as rookie Hadjar also started on the hards and the Racing Bulls driver is now seventh.
Stroll and Hulkenberg also started on the hard rubber and are yet to pit, with the pair sitting 11th and 12th respectively.
Lap 30
Leclerc finally pits from the lead and rejoins on the hard tyre in fifth. A mega opening stint from the Ferrari driver.
Norris now leads, but has not yet pitted having started on hard rubber unlike the other front runners, who began on mediums.
Lap 28
Leclerc and Norris are still going very strong here, maintaining a comfortable gap on Piastri in third despite having not yet pitted.
Are they now waiting for a safety car?
Lap 26
A safety car right about now would be amazing news for Leclerc and Norris, especially for the latter who was the only top 10 runner to start on the hard rubber and can keep going for a while, just in case he gets a cheap pitstop.
Lap 24
That was the last thing Verstappen needed. He spent the whole of the last lap behind held up by Hamilton, before eventually getting past at the end of the tour as the Ferrari came in to pit.
Verstappen now trails Piastri by 3.9s.
Lap 23
Leclerc and Norris are currently the top two and showing no signs of pitting.
Lap 22
Verstappen finally pits, two laps after Piastri. The Red Bull driver has served his 5s penalty and rejoins fifth on track, with Hamilton splitting him and third-placed Piastri, who has the net lead.
The Red Bull driver trails the McLaren by three-seconds.
Lap 20
Many more drivers are coming into the pitlane now. That includes Piastri, who has rejoined in sixth on the hard rubber after McLaren was a little slow fitting his tyres.
Lap 19
Haas rookie Oliver Bearman is the first driver to pit, while Piastri has been called in by McLaren.
Red Bull is deciding to keep Verstappen out with the world champion showing strong pace, having built up a 2.8s advantage.
Lap 19
Norris is the only driver making real gains at the moment. He has just overtaken Antonelli down the pit straight for fifth.
Fourth-placed Leclerc is five-seconds ahead.
Lap 18
Norris is on the move despite that battle with Hamilton taking longer than it perhaps should have.
He is within a second of Antonelli, proving the hard tyre to be an optimal compound around Jeddah.
Lap 17
A measured drive from Piastri so far, keeping within two-seconds of Verstappen in front.
Why bother battling with him when the race leader has a five-second penalty?
Lap 15
Finally, having perhaps wasted a couple of laps, Norris overtakes Hamilton for good after passing the Ferrari down the pit straight.
The gap to Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead is three seconds.
Lap 14
It appears that lightning does strike twice...
Norris overtook Hamilton for sixth in the final sector on lap 14, only for the Ferrari driver to once again pass him down the pit straight with DRS.
"Play the game" is the response of Will Joseph, Norris' race engineer.
Piastri is being told by his race engineer Tom Stallard that he is now in the safety car window. That means McLaren would be happy to stop now and go onto the hard tyres for the rest of the race. They are still on "Plan A" in terms of strategy.
Lap 13
Just moments after the last update, Norris overtook Hamilton in the final sector...only for the Ferrari driver to get DRS down the pit straight and reclaim sixth.
Lap 12
Norris: "Tyres are hot, so...clean air would be incredible."
The McLaren driver is currently seventh, within a second of Lewis Hamilton in front. But given Norris started on the hards, one would image it's a bit too early for him to pit.
Lap 11
The on-track battles are few and far between at the moment, with Verstappen keeping a steady 1s gap to Piastri.
Elsewhere, Albon provided a snappy response to his team over radio having been asked to manage the gap to Sainz in front to not overheat his tyres. He reminded his race engineer, James Urwin, that Hadjar is not far behind in 10th...
Lap 7
It's been a solid start for Norris, who is up to seventh on the hard tyre from 10th.
He's clearly working well on the white rubber while others are on mediums, so a visit to the podium could be on for the championship leader.
Lap 6
"Well, that is **** lovely" was Verstappen's response when being informed of the penalty.
He currently leads by 1.2s ahead of Piastri.
Lap 4, Five-second penalty for Verstappen
But, just as the race was restarted, Verstappen was hit with a 5s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on lap one.
Lap 4
The safety car is in and Verstappen manages the restart perfectly.
Race control has noted the incident between Piastri and Verstappen.
The McLaren driver got the faster start and was on the inside, causing Verstappen to go off so that a collision did not happen.
There is debate over whose corner it was.
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