Oscar Piastri’s win in Bahrain has seen the second McLaren driver enter the fight for the Drivers’ title as well, further spicing things up at the front of the grid.
An intra-team title battle, multiple teams in the mix for the win, and a struggling Red Bull give us plenty of narratives to end the first triple-header of the season as the grid heads to Jeddah for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. For the main event later this weekend, here are our preview and predictions.
Can the Silver Arrows stop the Papaya show?
McLaren are already laying down the marker for the season, which could see them win back-to-back Constructors’ titles. Boasting the fastest machinery on the grid, the Woking-based team are clear favourites every weekend.
While Piastri dominated on Sunday at Sakhir, it was the Silver Arrows who impressed the most after McLaren. Young Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in his debut season, has been stellar thus far, consistently fighting for the podium places, while George Russell has been the lead Mercedes driver. Both Russell and Antonelli had provisional pole in Bahrain, and the Brit even managed to start on the front row.
In Bahrain, Mercedes showed strong race pace. Russell even held off a charging McLaren to show that the F1 W16 is a proper contender. Along with McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari will be the ones to look out for in Jeddah.
Pole prediction: McLaren / Mercedes
Race winners prediction: McLaren / Ferrari
Red Bull on the backfoot
While Ferrari and Mercedes have been taking steps to move to the top of the grid, Red Bull have taken a step back this season.
Max Verstappen and Co are no longer the dominant team they were in the last couple of seasons. While they lack the pace to win races, things seem to be going bad to worse as sloppy pit stops have been costing them more time. The Austrian team have also been struggling with tyre degradation, an issue that has affected Verstappen in particular.
Both Verstappen and Red Bull have lost their second place in the respective Standings after Bahrain, with Oscar Piastri and Mercedes having overtaken them. If they don’t get on top of their issues soon, they’ll be in freefall. It is unlikely they find a quick fix for their current situation, which means we’re in for another rough Red Bull weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Alpine show promise
Among all the positives in Bahrain, Pierre Gasly was the standout one. His P7 finish saw Alpine score their first points of the season. More than that, the French team showed strong pace throughout the weekend.
After struggling in the opening couple of races, Alpine had Gasly qualifying a stunning fifth—ahead of the likes of Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton, while his teammate, Jack Doohan, just missed out on making it to Q3. Gasly’s followed his Qualifying performance with a strong P7 finish, ahead of any Red Bull or Mercedes driver.
The bottom four teams in the Constructors’ Standings are separated by four points. Alpine’s uptick in form may seem them make things competitive in the mid-to-lower midfield battle. With VCARB, Sauber, and Aston Martin struggling, this might be Alpine’s best chance to move up in the standings.
Saudi Arabian GP 2025: Race Details
Circuit: Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Venue: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Practice Session 1 time: 19:00 IST, April 18, 2025
Practice Session 2 time: 22:30 IST, April 18, 2025
Practice Session 3 time: 19:00 IST, April 19, 2025
Qualifying time: 22:30 IST, April 19, 2025
Main race time: 22:30 IST, April 20, 2025
Where to watch: F1 TV Pro / FanCode
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