The 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP will be the fifth race of the season, and the title battle has slowly started to intensify. The season began with a close battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Australia.
The one mistake by the Australian in his home race ruined a lot of things for him. He had a massive deficit in front of him that he had to overcome. Fortunately for Piastri, the gap has been more or less surmounted.
Heading into the F1 Saudi Arabian GP, Norris will know that the championship lead is at stake now. With softer tires bringing in another variable, we’re looking at more strategic variables that could be coupled with the smooth surface in Jeddah.
With that being said, what can we expect from the F1 Saudi Arabian GP? Let’s take a look.
#5. Softer tires won’t make much difference to wheel-to-wheel action
It does appear that Pirelli and F1 are acting on the new tire management capabilities of the field, and to boost action on track, they’re bringing in a softer compound. Could the softer compound and higher temperatures mean a higher tire degradation graph, pushing teams toward a two-stopper? The smooth surface in Jeddah could work against that, but it would be interesting to see if that is the case.
For now, if he has to predict, the softer compounds might not have much of an impact anyway.
#4. Ollie Bearman is going to have a strong weekend
Considering his junior career, if there’s one track where Ollie Bearman has been a step ahead of whichever field he’s been racing in, it’s Jeddah. He was on pole in Formula 2 here last season when the Prema was underwhelming at best. Expect the Haas driver to turn a few heads this weekend.
#3. Lewis Hamilton is going to struggle
Lewis Hamilton arguably falls on the other side of Ollie Bearman when it comes to performing at Jeddah. The F1 Saudi Arabian GP’s inaugural edition was a good one for the driver in 2021, as he won the race against Max Verstappen.
Other than that, things have not been as good. The driver has struggled to keep up with George Russell in the last three editions, and this time he’s paired with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
The F1 Saudi Arabian GP might not be the best one for the Ferrari driver.
#2. The top 4 would be much closer
What we saw in Bahrain was a scenario where tire management helped McLaren stretch its legs a bit compared to the competition. While the softer Pirelli could potentially play a role, the track characteristics are not necessarily as one-sided.
The first sector should be where McLaren takes the cake once again, but it is the second and third sectors where top speed is important. Those are the sectors that could bring all three rivals into the picture.
We could potentially see Max Verstappen, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc giving the McLaren duo a headache during the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
#1. Oscar Piastri wins the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP
It’s true that there’s probably going to be a bigger challenge to surmount for McLaren, but we cannot forget that Oscar Piastri is quite brilliant around Jeddah. He has had the edge on Lando Norris in both editions, and that’s not a small feat.
There’s also the factor that the nature of turbulent air this season means that it’s not going to be as easy to stay behind a car in the first sector, so that you can benefit from the DRS in the second and third sectors.
We’re backing Oscar Piastri to take his third win of the season at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP and take over the lead in the championship.
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Edited by Hitesh Nigam
