Red Bull driver Max Verstappen scored his second pole position of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after beating McLaren rival Oscar Piastri by 0.010 seconds.
The four-time reigning drivers’ champion has now taken pole at back-to-back editions of the Saudi Arabian GP, too, as Verstappen topped qualifying before winning the race in 2024. But the 2025 running was a much closer affair after he beat Charles Leclerc by 0.319s last year.
Pole was not decided until the final seconds of qualifying at the 2025 meet, with Verstappen snatching P1 on the grid off Piastri as the last of the front-running drivers to post a flying lap. Mercedes driver George Russell had briefly secured provisional pole with his 1:27.407 effort.
Piastri’s teammate was not a threat in the fight for pole after Lando Norris crashed in Q3 for the Saudi Arabian GP. The Briton had set the quickest lap time in Q2 ahead of Verstappen by 0.048s but ran deep at Turn 4 before losing control of his car on the kerb and he hit the wall.
McLaren will be ‘disappointed’ with the time Max Verstappen gained in sector one to take Saudi Arabian GP pole position
The fight for pole swung between Piastri, Verstappen and Russell after Norris’ crash in Q3 at the Saudi Arabian GP. His incident triggered the red flags after just Piastri had posted a time, before Red Bull put Verstappen out with fuel to try two runs with a race pit stop in between.
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| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Lando Norris |
77 |
| 2 |
Oscar Piastri |
74 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
69 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
63 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
32 |
| 6 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
30 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
25 |
Verstappen usurped Piastri to set the benchmark Q3 lap with his first run with a 1:27.559. It would not stay the benchmark for long, however, as Russell swept through to set a 1:27.407 before Piastri improved his early effort to a 1:27.304 only for Verstappen to post a 1:27.294.
Just 0.010s split Verstappen and Piastri for pole position and Sam Bird believes McLaren will be the most ‘disappointed’ by the time that the Red Bull racer gained in sector one over the Australian. He was 0.123s faster in S1, which fell to 0.052s in S2 and 0.010s at the finish line.
“To be that far ahead in sector one takes some doing by Max Verstappen,” Bird said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. “McLaren will be disappointed with this evening’s work.”
Yuki Tsunoda giving Max Verstappen a tow made the vital difference in Saudi Arabian GP qualifying over Oscar Piastri
Piastri initially held the fastest overall split time in sector one before Verstappen’s final flying lap saw the Red Bull driver usurp the McLaren man for pole at the Saudi Arabian GP. A factor that played into the Dutchman’s advantage was a tow from teammate Yuki Tsunoda, though.
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Tsunoda gave Verstappen a distant tow down the pit straight and it allowed the Red Bull star to gain around half a tenth of a second over Piastri before Turn 1 and ultimately seal pole for the Saudi Arabian GP. The Dutchman was slower than Piastri through sectors two and three.
Neither Piastri nor Verstappen could improve on their earlier Q3 runs in sector two and the Red Bull ace even failed to improve in sector three – where the McLaren pilot posted a new overall best split. But the tow Tsunoda gifted Verstappen in sector one made the difference.
