Verstappen clinches stunning pole position in Saudi Arabia as Norris crashes out in dramatic Qualifying

Max Verstappen has stormed to an incredible pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix amid a dramatic end to Qualifying that saw the Dutchman beat Oscar Piastri by just one-hundredth of a second, while Lando Norris suffered a hefty crash early in Q3.

With the McLarens entering the session as the favourites after strong outings in the weekend’s practice sessions, all eyes were on whether Piastri or Norris might clinch P1 as the final segment of Qualifying got underway.

But just as Piastri crossed the line to put the first time on the board, Norris had a moment over the kerbs that sent the Briton into the wall at the exit of Turn 5, bringing the Briton’s session to a premature end and triggering a red flag.

When the action resumed a thrilling battle for pole ensued, with George Russell initially grabbing P1 before being displaced by Piastri – only for Verstappen to surge through on a lap of 1m 27.294s, the Red Bull driver beating Piastri by just 0.010s.

This pushed Russell down to third in the Mercedes, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth and the other Silver Arrows machine of Kimi Antonelli in fifth. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile was a solid sixth, marking his best Qualifying performance for Williams so far.

Lewis Hamilton slotted into P7 as he continues to adjust to the Ferrari, with Yuki Tsunoda claiming P8 behind him for Red Bull. Pierre Gasly continued a decent run for Alpine in P9, while Norris remained in P10 without a time on the board after his early exit from Q3.

Alex Albon exited at the end of Q2 in P11 – the Williams driver missing out by only 0.007s – and Liam Lawson could not hide his disappointment after slipping down to P12 in the Racing Bulls.

Fernando Alonso’s Qualifying ended in a P13 grid slot, the Aston Martin driver joined in the elimination zone by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar in 14th and the Haas of Ollie Bearman in 15th.

Lance Stroll missed out on Q2 in P16 for Aston Martin, as did Jack Doohan, the Australian putting his Alpine in P17.

The session also witnessed a double elimination for Kick Sauber as Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto exited in 18th and 20th respectively – the latter suffering a big spin on his final effort – while Esteban Ocon ended the day in 19th for Haas.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Verstappen beats the McLarens

After three busy practice sessions across the weekend, attention turned to Saturday evening’s all-important Qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. McLaren had arrived into the hour looking like the ones to beat – but could any of their rivals bring the fight to the reigning Teams’ Champions?

Ocon led the pack out for Haas as the 18-minute Q1 segment got underway at 2000 local time, with everybody sporting the soft tyre for their initial runs on a track that had slightly cooled since FP3 from 52 degrees to 38.

After all 20 drivers had put a lap on the board, it was Piastri who had gone fastest on a 1m 28.019s – and the gap back to team mate Norris was again tantalisingly close, standing at just seven-thousandths of a second, while Verstappen was a tenth off in third.

As Norris then displaced Piastri at the top, Hadjar had a moment, the Frenchman reporting that he had hit the wall in his Racing Bulls. Meanwhile, some of his fellow rookies had found themselves in the drop zone, with Doohan, Lawson, Gasly, Ocon and Bortoleto all at risk of elimination as the final minutes ticked down.

There was trouble at Alpine, with replays showing Gasly leaving the garage with a tyre warmer still clinging to his front right tyre, prompting a member of the crew to remove it before the French driver headed out.

While Verstappen surged to the top on a 1m 27.778s, the battle continued for those trying to escape the drop zone. Gasly had a close call with the walls in his attempt – but his determination paid off, climbing up into the top 10.

Hamilton also found himself on the bubble before hauling himself up the order – as did Leclerc – but others were pushed downwards when their competitors improved. Stroll missed out on Q2 in 16th place, with Doohan unable to make the cut in 17th.

Hulkenberg and Bortoleto were 18th and 20th respectively – the latter apologising to his Kick Sauber team after suffering a spin at Turn 1 – with Ocon sandwiched between them in a disappointing 19th for the Haas driver.

Knocked out: Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Bortoleto

Q2 – Norris quickest as Hamilton just makes it through

Albon was the first to hit the track as Q2 began, with the Williams driver amongst those to have had a nail-biting brush with the wall in Q1. Lawson, meanwhile, had been noted for an unsafe release in the pit lane before the incident was dismissed by the stewards.

Verstappen initially looked to have continued his stint at the top of the timesheets until Norris displaced the Dutchman during the first runs, the Briton pumping in a 1m 27.481s to go four-hundredths clear of the Red Bull driver.

Things were not going entirely smoothly for Verstappen, who asked the team to check the plank of his car after hitting it hard out on track over a kerb. Further back, the drivers in the drop zone were Gasly, Bearman, Hadjar, Alonso and Lawson.

Antonelli – on the bubble in 10th – was looking to escape danger and improved to fifth, while Sainz moved up to sixth. Hadjar could not make it through, but an improvement from Lawson to 10th put Hamilton at risk.

Just moments later, the seven-time World Champion hauled himself up into the top 10 and, as others continued to better their previous efforts, Albon was pushed down to 11th – missing out by only 0.007s to Hamilton – and Lawson also slipped down the order to 12th.

Alonso missed the cut in P13, while Hadjar and Bearman were the other drivers eliminated in P14 and P15 respectively.

Knocked out: Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, Bearman

Q3 – Verstappen snatches pole as Norris crashes

After an exciting build-up, it was time for the top 10 shootout. With the McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull pairings joined by Sainz and Gasly, who would come out on top and secure pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?

Piastri was keen to get going, the Australian leading the field out for their first efforts. But just as the McLaren driver put an early timed lap on the board, drama struck when Norris hit the wall, the Briton having a small moment over the kerbs that proved enough to send him into the barriers at the exit of Turn 5.

After a red flag was thrown and Norris – who had reported that he was okay – was brought back to the pits, the rest of the pack prepared to go again with just over eight minutes left on the clock. Would Verstappen be the man to take the challenge to Piastri?

Initially it looked like the answer to that question was yes, the World Champion beating Piastri’s previous effort by a mere one-thousandth of a second. Most of the remaining drivers had opted to go for just one flying lap, setting up for a thrilling end to Qualifying as the nine that were left hit the track.

Russell was the first to put himself in P1 as the final runs played out, before Piastri surged through to retake the position. However, Verstappen was still on his lap – and promptly clinched pole with a time of 1m 27.294s to beat Piastri by just 0.010s.

This pushed Piastri and Russell down to second and third respectively, while Leclerc and Antonelli rounded out the top five. Sainz took an impressive sixth in the Williams, with Hamilton, Tsunoda and Gasly following from seventh to ninth. Norris, meanwhile, was 10th, having been unable to get a lap on the board prior to his session-ending crash.

Key quote

"[I'm] very happy," said Verstappen. "I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here, especially after FP3 looking at how the whole weekend was. The car came alive in the night, we made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me and around here a Qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls, you need to try and nail it.

"It’s really satisfying to be first here in Qualifying which is of course the best position for tomorrow, even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind but we’re going to give it a good go."

What's next

The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is set to begin at 2000 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from Jeddah.