Here's your starting grid for the upcoming race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit this Sunday. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 Starting Grid Today- Max Verstappen Claims a “Simply Lovely” Pole Position as Russell and Piastri Break Lap Records!

Read ahead to know how the drivers lineup for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025.

Here's your starting grid for the upcoming race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit this Sunday. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 starting grid is set for tomorrow. The 2025 season of F1 is going to be very competitive. The results of the qualifying session on Saturday are more than enough proof. Three drivers were able to break the lap record at Jeddah this year in the quest for pole position. Like always, turn 27 and 22 were a problem for the drivers. Saudi Arabian GP qualifying faced everything- from last minute pole laps to crashes.

Relive an action-packed qualifying! 👀

Here's your highlights from Saturday evening in Jeddah 🔽#F1 #SaudiArabianGP
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025

The midfield has become even more tightly packed as Sunday approaches. The front row and the second row are locked out by four different teams at Jeddah this year. Furthermore, seven out of ten drivers in the Q3 are from different teams. Except Kick Sauber nearly every team has managed to impress us on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend with positive changes.

Jeddah Corniche Circuit has brought in many surprises this season. Red Bull find themselves in a better position in Saudi Arabia compared to the other races this season. Let’s have a look at how the driver’s fared during the qualifying session for the Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 Starting Grid

The top-10 drives from the Saudi Arabian GP qualifying results are as follows-

Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Kimi Antonelli
Carlos Sainz
Lewis Hamilton
Yuki Tsunoda
Pierre Gasly
Lando Norris

A tantalising grid is set! 👊

Here's how the field will line up for tomorrow's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 👇#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/SHGqzSMob6
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025

Max Verstappen breezed past his opponents as Jeddah to set the lap record of 1:27.294. He will start the race on pole position and hope to utilise his advantage in a same manner as Japan. The track statistics are in his favor. Jeddah has witnessed three victories from pole position in the four races it has hosted in the previous years. Oscar Piastri salvaged the qualifying session for McLaren, posting a time 0.010s slower than Max Verstappen. He was unable to improve his middle sector during the flying lap which helped Verstappen gain the edge over him.

George Russell was the first drive to break the lap record at Jeddah. His lap was not perfect but it was enough to put him on provisional pole for some moments. Russel will be looking forward to the race considering the small gap between the front row and his Mercedes in the qualifying. The same could not be said for Charles Leclerc. Even though he is starting in fourth, the Monegasque was out of contention for pole throughout the Q3 session. Ferrari needs to set things straight with their car if they want to perform at the top.

An early exit in qualifying for Lando means a fight back in the race tomorrow 💪

The championship leader was OK and walked back into the paddock – he'll start from P10 #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/mXDokQRemr
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025

Kimi Antonelli has returned to the top-10 after disappointment of Bahrain. The young Italian managed to outsmart veterans yet again with his Mercedes. Antonelli is building up for a superb start in 2025. It won’t be long before the 18-year-old can claim his first podium.

Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying- Competitive Top-10 Ahead

Antonelli is followed by Carlos Sainz in sixth position. It seems like Sainz has finally conquered his Williams and is ready to compete on equal grounds with Alex Albon.

Carlos Sainz secures his best grid position of 2025 so far 🙌

Sainz's P6 is also @WilliamsRacing's best ever grid position in Saudi Arabia 👊#F1 #SaudiArabianGP @Carlossainz55 pic.twitter.com/ExmByufi2v
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025

Lewis Hamilton is going to start Jeddah in seventh place followed by Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly. Lando Norris could not do much in qualifying as he crashed within minuted during the start of Q3. Norris will have to do a lot of damage mitigation tomorrow if he wants to maintain his lead in the championship. Fortunately, his car is fast enough to utilise the pace present in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying- Rest of the Grid

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is not going to be as easy for the rest of the teams on the grid. Alex Albon narrowly missed out on qualifying as he finished in 11th position. The Racing Bulls could not muster enough speed throughout the weekend. As Q2 came to a finish, their drivers could only manage 12th and 14th on the grid respectively.

Now that, Aston Martin has clarified that Adrian Newey is not involved in their 2025 design, it is visible why Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are 14th and 16th respectively. Haas had a disappointing start to their qualifying session as they ended up getting filtered out soon. Kick Sauber displays yet another failure in qualifying with absolutely no speed.

Max Verstappen comes across a spinning Gabriel Bortoleto at the end of Q1 😬#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/N4MLX6Ok8k
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025

The upcoming race at Jeddah Corniche is going to be insanely difficult for the drivers out of the top-10. The track’s nature forbids slower cars from establishing any stability in position. It is also a fairly easy track to overtake, hence, drivers will have to rely on their talents more than their machinery if they want to bring in good results from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Follow us at the Playoffs to know the latest information about the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the Formula 1 2025 season.

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

George Russell

Max Verstappen

McLaren F1

Mercedes Formula 1 Team

Oscar Piastri

Red Bull Racing

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.