Race 5 - 2025 Saudi Arabia GP [Jeddah Corniche Circuit]

[Nitrodaze]

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We arrive at the end of the triple header at the Power Track of Jeddah. This is a track where engine and downforce make a big difference. We have noticed that the competition is right on the coattails of the McLarens. The slightest of mistakes is punished severely, as Norris and Hamilton found in Bahrain.

There are suggestions of a crisis at Redbull as their form has fallen behind Ferrari. Everyone is anticipating a Verstappen move to another team. Russell seems vulnerable, even with stellar performances. That is one to discuss another day.
Ferrari's new floor exposes a three tenths gap to the leaders. LeClerc's new driving style does seem enough to bridge the gap. Like Redbull, Ferrari is beginning to show some level of panic. They are looking like repeating what happened last season; they may arrive at the party too late to win anything.

This race shall establish which McLaren driver has the impetus to win the driver's championship of 2025. Norris has lost is speed somehow and is suffering for it. He needs to adapt his driving for this fast track and reclaim the headlines. Piastri shall go very well on this sort of track, hence it would be down to very fine margins between the Papaya lads.

Can Ferrari put pressure on Mercedes for a podium position? Can Hamilton get closer to LeClerc in quali? Can Russell win the Jeddah race against the odds?

[Nitrodaze]

Oh Lando, what have you done? Pole is wide open now. A Mercedes Pole is on the cards but my money is on Verstappen.

[Tazio]

Lando spanked himself.

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[Bagwan]

Easy mistake , a little too fast , a little too wide , a little too much curb , a little wiggle , a little correction , makes for a little carbon fiber salad for little Lando .

At this track , with a hoard of rookies , there's a good chance the little guy will be up to 5th by the end of the first lap .
He is driving a McLaren .

I'm loving this not knowing who's going to come up with the goods thing we've got happening this year .

[Used to be Starter]

The track is crazy fast for the amount of runoff. It will be challenging for anyone to go all out for the race distance. Max has the advantage here for sure because it's going to be very difficult to pass anyone who is close to the same speed as you.

[airshifter]

Overall an interesting weekend and solid race.

Though McLaren seemed to have the pace in practice they had nothing more to give come qually. Lando's mistake cost him big, and Max pulled off a blazer of a lap to take pole.

The tides turned once the race started, and Oscar got a good enough jump to force Max into the penalty. In hindsight, it might have made sense for Max to give the position back under the SC and hope for a great jump on the restart.... but hindsight is always 20/20 and the team likely thought they wouldn't get a penalty, or could overcome it in clean air. Either way, solid job by Oscar to take advantage of the situation, take another race win, and take the WDC lead.

George and Kimi seemed to struggle with tires, and Leclerc managed to push the issue enough to gain a well deserved podium. Except for being punked by Lewis for a few laps, Lando did well starting on the hards and making positions up.

Major props to Williams and both drivers to have the presence of mind to go with Carlos keeping Alex within DRS to fend off a charging Hadjar. Isack had a great race himself, and though he didn't get either Williams driver in the end, he sure had the pace to do so if they didn't work so well as a team.


Sucks for Yuki on that one, partly his fault at least, but Gasly force the hand just as much if not more really. He seems to have the mental strength and confidence growing, but this time he would have been smart to play the long game and let Gasly have that first turn.

[Bagwan]

In the Max penalty situation , since Oscar was still reasonably close behind him , I would have preferred to see the stewards ask Max to let him by in the next lap or get that 5 second penalty .

[Used to be Starter]

Major props to Williams and both drivers to have the presence of mind to go with Carlos keeping Alex within DRS to fend off a charging Hadjar. Isack had a great race himself, and though he didn't get either Williams driver in the end, he sure had the pace to do so if they didn't work so well as a team.


Sucks for Yuki on that one, partly his fault at least, but Gasly force the hand just as much if not more really. He seems to have the mental strength and confidence growing, but this time he would have been smart to play the long game and let Gasly have that first turn.

Good call on the Williams - great result for them.

Not so good on the Yuki - Gasly contact. That was 100% on Yuki.

[Matthew]

Glad Ferrari got its first podium finish and also great to see both Williams drivers got the points. Sainz seems to be settling in well with Williams unlike Hamilton at Ferrari.

[Nitrodaze]

Glad Ferrari got its first podium finish and also great to see both Williams drivers got the points. Sainz seems to be settling in well with Williams unlike Hamilton at Ferrari.

Yeah, it is great to see Sainz have a good weekend. But l think the order they finished would have been the reverse if Albon was comfortable with the car this weekend. Strange radio exchange between Albon and the Williams pitwall again at this race. It was fruity in Bahrain as he struggled with the car, and again in Jeddah. I wonder what is going on there.

It seems a carryover from Mercedes for Hamilton. He did not look comfortable in his Ferrari. His steering action was very busy, and his confidence seemed clearly not there. For Ferrari to get the most out of Hamilton, they have to give him the car he wants under him. What they currently have is not working for him. LeClerc thinks he only needs more downforce to be in the mix for race wins. He is driving around the issues with that car. But then he has several years of driving that Ferrari platform.

The Mercedes faded backwards in Russell's hands, which gifted the podium position to LeClerc. It seems the Mercedes might still be sensitive to temperatures. Kimi did a great job of maintaining a gap to a closing Hamilton at one point.

Norris drove a very disappointing race—the worst I have seen of him since joining McLaren. He seemed too much in a hurry to get to the front and made lots of poor judgments. He had the pace and the car to carve his way back to the podium, but somehow failed to do so. We may be seeing a changing of the guard situation at McLaren as the lead of the championship changes for the first time in this long season.

Yeah, the season is long, and Norris is now 10 points behind. Oscar recovered from a 20 points deficit to take the lead. All indications suggests the lead is going to change hands multiple times, with Verstappen close by 12 points behind. But close enough to take advantage of the McLaren battle if it goes wrong.

[N. Jones]

I'm calling it - this is Oscar's championship to lose unless the Red Bull starts to dominate.

[Steve Boyd]

I'm calling it - this is Oscar's championship to lose unless the Red Bull starts to dominate.


Lando needs to get over his concentration lapses. He seems to have got over his first lap from pole complacency but either of those two brushes with the wall could have been the end of his hopes. If he's still error prone next year Piastri could well finish ahead of him as he seems better focussed, albeit a bit slower.Since last September Oscar has caught up for pace & I think you're right - Oscar's the favourite unless McLaren's performance drops off relative to Red Bull.

[F1nKS]

Great run by Piastri. If Ferrari and Mercedes could start winning some races, we could really have a great battle.

Turn 1 has always been a problem with this track.

I don't understand why they don't fix turn 1 so if a driver goes wide he is punished by the track and not leaving it up to the stewards.

[airshifter]

Great run by Piastri. If Ferrari and Mercedes could start winning some races, we could really have a great battle.

Turn 1 has always been a problem with this track.

I don't understand why they don't fix turn 1 so if a driver goes wide he is punished by the track and not leaving it up to the stewards.

I fully agree on the turn one issues. Some of these tracks make it far too easy to keep position by going off track.

And with a long season ahead of us I hope Ferrari and Mercedes can get back in the hunt.

[Nitrodaze]

I'm calling it - this is Oscar's championship to lose unless the Red Bull starts to dominate.

A 10-point gap is not enough to give reason to head to the bookies. Norris may be back in the lead at the next few races. The interesting thing is how Verstappen is hustling to keep within the mix of the duelling McLarens to keep his championship chances alive.

McLaren is showing signs of inherent issues. The competition seems to be closing in so early into the season. The way it is going, it may not be a McLaren fairytale come Abu Dhabi. We are now into the development war phase, and the team that finds a solution that unlocks the full potential of their car would most likely win titles. It may become clearer after the flexi-wing changes come into effect after Spain.

Norris is not fully comfortable with the McLaren. Verstappen is clearly not satisfied with the Redbull car. LeClerc is clearly frustrated with the Ferrari. Somehow, these cars have become tricky to drive.

[Nitrodaze]

Great run by Piastri. If Ferrari and Mercedes could start winning some races, we could really have a great battle.

Turn 1 has always been a problem with this track.

I don't understand why they don't fix turn 1 so if a driver goes wide he is punished by the track and not leaving it up to the stewards.

This is typical of street circuits. Monaco has a similar type of this corner. It was interesting to see Piastri give Verstappen a taste of his medicine. Unlike Norris, Piastri made it perfectly clear that he was not going to be pushed around by Verstappen.