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George Russell finished an impressive second for Mercedes while Lewis Hamilton finished fifth - his best result on a Sunday since joining Ferrari.
Max Verstappen was short of pace for Red Bull, in the end coming home sixth, with speculation mounting that the Dutchman could leave at the end of the season. Verstappen won last year’s race in Jeddah, memorable for Ollie Bearman making his F1 debut.
Oscar Piastri, ahead of Saudi Arabia GP:
“It’s been a great start to the season, I’m very proud of it.
“Hopefully we can keep it going, it’s been good so far.
“The best way to launch a championship challenge is to execute on a race weekend.”
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:35
F1 driver standings after four races
4. George Russell – 63 points
5. Charles Leclerc – 35 points
6. Kimi Antonelli – 30 points
8. Alex Albon – 18 points
9. Esteban Ocon – 14 points
10. Lance Stroll – 10 points
11. Pierre Gasly – 6 points
12. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points
13. Ollie Bearman – 6 points
14. Isack Hadjar – 4 points
16. Carlos Sainz – 1 point
17. Liam Lawson – 0 points
18. Jack Doohan – 0 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points
20. Fernando Alonso – 0 points
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:30
PREVIEW: How Saudi Arabia has sights set on F1 summit with $480m ‘Rainbow Road’ Qiddiya track
Initial glances at the future of Formula One in Saudi Arabia look like something out of another galaxy.
In fact, fans online have likened the renderings of Qiddiya Speed Park, due for completion in 2027 at a cost of $480m (£360m), to Rainbow Road in the video game Mario Kart. And with a 70m incline at turn one, nicknamed “The Blade”, it’s not actually as outlandish a comparison as it might seem.
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:23
Max Verstappen responds to Red Bull F1 exit speculation: ‘A lot of people are talking’
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko poured fuel on the fire when he stated post-Bahrain that the team has “great concern” over Verstappen’s future, given their current struggles.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” Verstappen said, in Thursday’s press conference at the Saudi Arabian GP, when asked why Marko made those comments.
“I just keep working, trying to improve the car. Naturally, Bahrain was not a great weekend for us. I think we were all pretty disappointed with that.
“We keep trying to come up with new ideas to try on the car, the competition is tough, that’s how i go about my weeks. Just trying to improve my situation.
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:22
Charles Leclerc on Ferrari development:
“Considering the characteristics of this track, we should make a small step forward compared to what we did in Bahrain,” Leclerc said.
“The numbers we hoped to see on the Sakhir circuit from this update are what we then saw. Here, we expect something more.
“We are three tenths away from McLaren, our performance is similar to that of Mercedes while Red Bull has been a bit more inconsistent so far, and this makes it more difficult to have a clear picture of their potential.”
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:15
George Russell on prospect of Mercedes signing Max Verstappen:
“Why wouldn’t they want to sign Max? It’s totally understandable,” Russell said.
“He’s the best at the moment. He’s a four-time world champion. That’s not anything against me or Kimi. There’s two drivers for every team and he is one person.
“So that doesn’t concern me one bit because the performance is my currency and right now I think I am performing as good as anyone on this grid.”
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 17:05
F1 constructor standings after four races:
1. McLaren - 151 points
2. Mercedes - 93 points
3. Red Bull - 71 points
4. Ferrari - 57 points
5. Haas - 20 points
6. Williams - 19 points
7. Aston Martin - 10 points
8. Racing Bulls - 7 points
9. Alpine - 6 points
10. Sauber - 6 points
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 16:54
Martin Brundle reveals George Russell concern amid Max Verstappen speculation
“I think if Max Verstappen sprung into the marketplace, I would be quite worried for George, actually, because Kimi is obviously their man for the future,” Brundle said on Sky Sports.
“So there’s a lot of ifs in there. George is doing a great job for him as team leader, but Toto missed Max once, I don’t think that he’ll miss him a second time should he get the opportunity.”
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 16:43
Lando Norris planning to try new things to get ‘comfortable’ with his McLaren
“It is a weekend where I want to perform, I want to do well,” Norris said.
“But it is early enough in the season where, if I can work on some things and improve in some areas, that will pay off in the longer run.
“We have come into the weekend with a different approach, with a different mindset, different things to try.
“I needed a couple of days off, a reset. Probably would have liked a few more days but I made the most of my three days relaxing, getting away from it a little bit.”
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 16:30
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff:
On McLaren being at the top: “Things can swing, you are talking about a few tenths, you can catch them.”
On Russell: “He’s going a top job. He’s such a stoic person, people talked about Lewis and Max, now you can see how he’s delivering. He’s performing in that car to the maximum. He’s getting better, better and better.”
On Antonelli: “It’s important to tackle it actively, he’s learning. I don’t want him to take any risks in the high speed.”
On potential of signing Verstappen: “I wouldn't say that, I don't flirt if I'm happy in the relationship in a professional way. I am super happy with the line-up we have, Max is at Red Bull, we haven't had a conversation."
Kieran Jackson19 April 2025 16:09
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