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The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2025 5:05 pm
by cmlean
This is the place to discuss everything related to the 5th round of the 2025 season taking place in Saudi Arabia between the 18th and the 20th of April.
The event timetable for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Friday
1st Practice 16:30 local time - 13:30 GMT
2nd Practice 20:00 local time - 17:00 GMT
Saturday
Practice 16:30 local time - 13:30 GMT
Qualifying 20:00 local time - 17:00 GMT
Sunday
Race 20:00 local time - 17:00 GMT
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:25 am
by cmlean
FP1
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 1:29.239 Pierre Gasly Alpine
2 1:29.246 Lando Norris McLaren
3 1:29.309 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
4 1:29.341 Oscar Piastri McLaren
5 1:29.606 Alexander Albon Williams
6 1:29.618 George Russell Mercedes
7 1:29.779 Carlos Sainz Williams
8 1:29.815 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
9 1:29.818 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
10 1:29.821 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing
11 1:29.907 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
12 1:29.916 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
13 1:29.934 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
14 1:29.976 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
15 1:30.011 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
16 1:30.183 Jack Doohan Alpine
17 1:30.583 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
18 1:30.595 Oliver Bearman Haas
19 1:31.029 Esteban Ocon Haas
20 1:31.038 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:32 am
by cmlean
The green lights came on and the teams took to the track. This high speed Jeddah circuit is a test for man and machine so track time is vital.
Drivers took their time familiarizing themselves by slowly increasing their speed and lowering their lap times. Minor setup changes were made to improve the driveability of their cars. Aside from cars missing the turn 1 apex and a couple of light scrapes on the wall, the session went without incident.
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:36 am
by cmlean
FP2
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 1:28.267 Lando Norris McLaren
2 1:28.430 Oscar Piastri McLaren
3 1:28.547 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
4 1:28.749 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
5 1:28.942 Carlos Sainz Williams
6 1:28.963 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing
7 1:28.973 George Russell Mercedes
8 1:29.106 Pierre Gasly Alpine
9 1:29.193 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
10 1:29.220 Alexander Albon Williams
11 1:29.242 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
12 1:29.306 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
13 1:29.371 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
14 1:29.488 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
15 1:29.662 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
16 1:29.754 Oliver Bearman Haas
17 1:29.912 Jack Doohan Alpine
18 1:30.007 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
19 1:30.019 Esteban Ocon Haas
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2025 8:49 am
by cmlean
Between sessions, Gabriel Bortoleto's Sauber was found to have had a fuel leak from the tank. The car had to be completely disassembled to rectify the problem and will require scrutineering tomorrow prior to FP3 to take to the track.
With conditions similar to what is expected for qualifying tomorrow, the remaining drivers took to the track again exploring the boundaries of both the circuit and machine.
Oscar Piastri aborted a lap following a touch to the wall while Alex Albon and Kimi Antonelli both had heavier touches exiting of the final turn. These drivers incurred no major damage as a result of their incidents.
The same couldn't be said for Yuki Tsunoda who, after solid sessions in FP1 and FP2, hit the inside barrier in the final turn. The damage to his left front broke the steering of his Red Bull and he hit the outside barrier hard. With just over 8 minutes left in the session, it looked like that would be it however the cleanup crews worked swiftly and most cars managed to make it out on track as the clock counted down to zero.
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:12 am
by cmlean
FP3
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 1:27.489 Lando Norris McLaren
2 1:27.513 Oscar Piastri McLaren
3 1:28.116 George Russell Mercedes
4 1:28.334 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
5 1:28.372 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
6 1:28.389 Alexander Albon Williams
7 1:28.570 Carlos Sainz Williams
8 1:28.625 Pierre Gasly Alpine
9 1:28.670 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing
10 1:28.679 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
11 1:28.769 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
12 1:28.780 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
13 1:28.861 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
14 1:28.888 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
15 1:28.898 Jack Doohan Alpine
16 1:28.989 Oliver Bearman Haas
17 1:29.220 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
18 1:29.336 Esteban Ocon Haas
19 1:29.410 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber
20 1:29.478 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:15 am
by cmlean
Another hot session which wouldn't be indicative of the qualifying and race conditions.
Drivers again explored the track limits with some clipping the barriers however none caused any substantial damage.
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:23 am
by cmlean
Qualifying
Code: Select all
Pos Time Driver Team
1 1:27.294 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
2 1:27.304 Oscar Piastri McLaren
3 1:27.407 George Russell Mercedes
4 1:27.670 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
5 1:27.866 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
6 1:28.164 Carlos Sainz Williams
7 1:28.201 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
8 1:28.204 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing
9 1:28.367 Pierre Gasly Alpine
10 No Time Lando Norris McLaren
___________________________________________________
11 1:28.109 Alexander Albon Williams
12 1:28.191 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
13 1:28.303 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
14 1:28.418 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
15 1:28.648 Oliver Bearman Haas
___________________________________________________
16 1:28.645 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
17 1:28.739 Jack Doohan Alpine
18 1:28.782 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
19 1:29.092 Esteban Ocon Haas
20 1:29.462 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:44 am
by cmlean
The end of Q2 and Alex Albon took a gamble of setting an early time for his second run. This came back to bite him and as he was knocked out of a probable Q3 start in by Yuki Tsunoda. Yuki was the final car to complete his lap in the stage of qualifying.
Q3 commenced with Oscar Piastri leading the pack onto the track for their preparation laps. Lando Norris hit the barriers in the turn 4 and 5 complex bringing out a yellow. This became a red however Piastri just managed to cross the timing line before it was enacted to be the only driver to post a time. Due to the time stopping during the red flag period, both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz managed to still get 2 runs in but with the penalty of having to carry additional fuel on their first runs.
Max again came to the fore beating Piastri's first run by a mere 1/1000th of a second. Second runs and George Russell set a new lap record only to be surpassed by Oscar Piastri moments later. The nex contender for pole was Max Verstappen and he didn't disappoint taking pole by a mere 1/100th of a second. Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line last but improved his to to a creditable 6th position for his Williams team.
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 6:56 am
by cmlean
Race
Code: Select all
Pos Driver Team
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
4 Lando Norris McLaren
5 George Russell Mercedes
6 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
8 Carlos Sainz Williams
9 Alexander Albon Williams
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
13 Oliver Bearman Haas
14 Esteban Ocon Haas
15 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
17 Jack Doohan Alpine
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber
DNF Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing
DNF Pierre Gasly Alpine
Next: Round of Miami '25
Date: 02-04 May 2025
Re: The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Thread
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 7:19 am
by cmlean
The race was basically won at the start. Oscar Piastri got the jump and was level with Max Verstappen at the turn into turn 1. Max took to the run off area and resumed his position at the front of the field. The stewards got involved and handed Max a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Both drivers had their complaints. Max saying that he wasn't given room and Oscar saying that Max needed to give the place back. In turn 4, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda came together with Gasly coming off worst with a hard hit into the barrier. Tsunoda also went in rear wing first and sustained enough damage to the right rear corner to retire the car.
Piastri followed Max for the next 20 laps around 1 second behind. Running in dirty air, the tyres suffered and he was the first of the leaders to pit. Max pushed and managed to get just under 3 seconds ahead however, with the undercut, Piastri took the lead and was never headed.
My driver of the day would have to go to Lando Norris who started from P10 on the grid and made it up to P4 at the flag pushing Charles Leclerc over the final laps.
A word for the Williams team whose drivers played the team game in giving DRS to the second car to allow it to defend against a faster car behind them. Sainz 8th, Albon 9th and Hadjar 10th.