Verstappen takes pole by the smallest margin this year and records his 75th front row start, while Stroll records his 75th Q1 exit. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!
VERSTAPPEN ON POLE AT THE 2025 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
Max Verstappen secured the 42nd pole position of his career at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He secured pole position by just 0.010 seconds – the smallest pole margin of the season so far and the smallest to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
This was the 32nd time in F1 history that pole has been decided by 0.010 seconds or less. It was the smallest pole margin since the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
This was Red Bull’s fourth consecutive pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Verstappen secured pole position with a new Track Record at Jeddah Corniche Circuit of 1:27.294 – bettering his previous record from 2024 by 0.178 seconds.
Verstappen became the second driver, after Oscar Piastri, to secure multiple pole positions in 2025.
This will be Verstappen’s 75th front row start, making him the sixth driver to record as many as 75 front row starts.
Verstappen equalled Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc for the most front row starts at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. He is the second driver, after Perez, to take consecutive poles in Saudi Arabia.
IN THE TOP TEN
Oscar Piastri qualified on the front row for the second race in a row and remains the only driver to qualify in the top three at every race so far in 2025. This was Piastri’s first top four qualification in Saudi Arabia as well as the first time a McLaren driver has qualified in the top four at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Piastri remains yet to be out-qualified by his team-mate at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Qualifying fourth, Charles Leclerc continued his record of being the only driver to reach Q3 at every Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to date.
Leclerc qualified on the second row of the grid for a third consecutive race weekend. It was the first time since 2021 that he did not set the second fastest lap time in qualifying in Jeddah.
George Russell continued his record of qualifying in the top five at every race to date in the 2025 season by qualifying third for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was his best qualifying result to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Leclerc and Russell are the only drivers who have never been out-qualified by their team-mates in any of the five Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying sessions to date.
Kimi Antonelli qualified in the top five for the second race weekend in a row.
This was the first time since 2021 that both Mercedes drivers qualified in the top five for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz qualified sixth for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – his best Saturday result of the year so far.
Sainz became the first Williams driver to reach Q3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Sainz out-qualified Alex Albon for the second race in a row. It is the first time Albon has been out-qualified at consecutive races since partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2020.
This is the first time Sainz has ever out-qualified a team-mate at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
With eighth place in Q3, Yuki Tsunoda equalled his best Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying result to date, having last qualified eighth in Jeddah in 2021.
Qualifying ninth, Pierre Gasly reached Q3 for the third time in 2025.
After crashing out and failing to set a lap time in Q3, Lando Norris qualified tenth for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – his worst qualifying result of the year to date.
Norris was out-qualified by Piastri for a second race in a row. It is the first time that has happened since the 2024 Emilia Romagna and Monaco Grands Prix.
This was Norris’ worst qualifying performance since exiting in Q1 at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
ELIMINATED IN Q2
Alex Albon was just 0.007 seconds away from reaching Q3 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He failed to reach Q3 for the second race weekend in a row.
Liam Lawson qualified 12th for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, recording his best qualifying result of the season to date.
Lawson out-qualified his team-mate for the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
Isack Hadjar qualified outside of the top 12 for the first time in his Formula 1 career, setting the 14th fastest time in Q2.
Fernando Alonso continued his record of exiting in Q2 at every race so far in 2025 and qualified 13th for the fourth Grand Prix in a row.
This was the first time since 2021 that Alonso failed to reach Q3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, when he also qualified 13th.
OUT IN Q1
Lance Stroll was out in Q1 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, recording the 75th Q1 exit of his career. He overtook Kevin Magnussen at the top of the list of most Q1 exits and became the first driver to record as many as 75 Q1 eliminations.
This was Stroll’s third consecutive Q1 elimination, having reached Q2 at the four previous races. It was his first Q1 exit in Saudi Arabia since 2021.
Esteban Ocon qualified on the back row for the second time this year, equalling his worst qualifying result of the season. He also qualified 19th at the Australian Grand Prix.
2025 is the second year in a row that Ocon has been out in Q1 in Saudi Arabia.
This was the first time Ocon has been out-qualified by a team-mate at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Both Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto recorded Q1 exits at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was Sauber’s second double Q1 exit of the year as well as the second year in a row that the team has recorded a double Q1 exit at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Gabriel Bortoleto set the slowest time in qualifying for the first time in his career. This was his fourth consecutive Q1 exit.
