
Lando Norris Crashes Out In Dramatic F1 Qualifying Session
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.
FORMULA 1 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2025 – Qualifying results
POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
CAR |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
LAPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:27.778 |
1:27.529 |
1:27.294 |
19 |
2 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:27.901 |
1:27.545 |
1:27.304 |
18 |
3 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
1:28.282 |
1:27.599 |
1:27.407 |
16 |
4 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
1:28.552 |
1:27.866 |
1:27.670 |
19 |
5 |
12 |
Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes |
1:28.128 |
1:27.798 |
1:27.866 |
17 |
6 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Williams Mercedes |
1:28.354 |
1:28.024 |
1:28.164 |
23 |
7 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Ferrari |
1:28.372 |
1:28.102 |
1:28.201 |
20 |
8 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
1:28.226 |
1:27.990 |
1:28.204 |
16 |
9 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
1:28.421 |
1:28.025 |
1:28.367 |
22 |
10 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
1:27.805 |
1:27.481 |
DNF |
11 |
11 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
1:28.279 |
1:28.109 |
|
14 |
12 |
30 |
Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:28.561 |
1:28.191 |
|
11 |
13 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:28.548 |
1:28.303 |
|
14 |
14 |
6 |
Isack Hadjar |
Racing Bulls Honda RBPT |
1:28.571 |
1:28.418 |
|
12 |
15 |
87 |
Oliver Bearman |
Haas Ferrari |
1:28.536 |
1:28.648 |
|
15 |
16 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
1:28.645 |
|
|
9 |
17 |
7 |
Jack Doohan |
Alpine Renault |
1:28.739 |
|
|
9 |
18 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:28.782 |
|
|
8 |
19 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Haas Ferrari |
1:29.092 |
|
|
9 |
20 |
5 |
Gabriel Bortoleto |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
1:29.462 |
|
|
8 |
Formula 1 Media | Photo: Formula 1