Summary

  • Verstappen takes pole from Piastri, Russell third

  • Norris hit wall in Q3, causing red flag and will start Grand Prix 10th

  • Q2: Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar & Bearman out

  • Q1: Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon & Bortoleto eliminated

  • Norris leads Piastri by three points in drivers' championship

  • Get involved: #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Oliver BearmanGetty Images

    Oliver Beamran and Esteban Ocon cross the line and Briton Bearman is the quicker of the pair.

    The Alpine of Jack Doohan beats both drivers to go top followed the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg.

  2. Cars queuedGetty Images

    The soft C5 tyres are on and the Haas boys are first to prepare for a flying lap. Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Max Verstappen are staying put for the moment.

  3. 'The speed at this circuit is simply sensational'

    Sam Bird
    Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    This is always my favourite qualifying session of the year, the cars just look absolutely fantastic under the lights and the speed which Formula One cars take to this circuit is simply sensational.

  4. Go! Go! Go!

    JeddahGetty Images

    Jeddah is the third-longest circuit on the F1 calendar with the most corners - and speeds second only to those at Monza. Fortune favours the brave here but push your luck too much and the walls will be there to bite back. Track temperature is still a toasty 37C but the cooler conditions will be a little bit kinder on those soft compounds.

    Q1 is green with 18 minutes on the clock.

  5. McLaren leading the way

    McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull is how the top three of the constructors' championship looks after four rounds of the 2025 season. Defending champions McLaren have a 58-point advantage before we go racing in Jeddah on Sunday.

    The midfield battle is tight again this year. Double points for Haas last week has moved them up to fifth place, above Williams, who drop to sixth. Alpine are off the mark thanks to Pierre Gasly's points in Sakhir.

    Constructors' championshipGetty Images/BBC Sport

  6. Tune in

    BBC Sounds

    Harry, Andrew and Same are live now, so click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page or ask BBC Sounds via most smart speakers to play Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying.

  7. Piastri on the move

    The victory in Bahrain has lifted Oscar Piastri above Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings and into second place, just three points away from his team-mate and Lando Norris. Could we see a new title leader by the end of the weekend in Saudi Arabia?

    Drivers top 10Getty Images/BBC Sport

  8. Get Involved

    #bbcf1

    Nulla Pax: I'm happy to see a mixed bag at the front of the grid, but I'm mainly crossing my fingers for Yuki to stick it into Q3.

  9. Who took Saudi pole last year?

    Max VerstappenEPA

    Four races have been held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and three of those have been won by the driver who has claimed a Saturday pole position.

    We're a month later to arrive in Saudi Arabia this year, so temperatures will be warmer compared to the 2024 event, but Max Verstappen was in dominant form last season and didn't even need a second lap in final qualifying, as he secured pole with a time of 1:27.472.

  10. 'I fully expect it to be usual qualifying shootout' - Brown

    Zak BrownGetty Images

    McLaren boss Zak Brown spoke to Sky Sports before qualifying: "They [Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri] are pushing each other hard, the car is good. I don't think the gap that you saw in FP3 will be the same gap for whoever gets pole and front row.

    "We see how close it is so I fully expect it to be the usual qualifying shootout, but I think we're looking good so far."

  11. Cool Piastri

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images

    Five races in and Oscar Piastri is aiming to secure his third pole position of the season. The Australian led the Saturday field in China and Bahrain and followed up his pole successes with victories at both grands prix.

    If Piastri was to take another win from pole this weekend, and team-mate Lando Norris finished second or lower in Saudi Arabia, he will end this first triple-header of the campaign as the new championship leader.

    Piastri shaded Norris in Jeddah qualifying last year by less than a tenth, although the pair shared the third row and not the front on that occasion.

  12. 'Jeez'

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

    The team radio in third practice gave us a glimpse of the uphill struggle Lewis Hamilton is experiencing during his first months in the Ferrari.

    Hamilton: "How far am I down on the sectors?"

    Engineer: "Seven tenths first sector, four tenths second sector and we aborted the last sector."

    Hamilton: "Jeez."

  13. Struggles at Ferrari

    Lewis HamiltonGetty Images

    Where Ferrari will qualify today is a bit of mystery. Charles Leclerc was 0.883 seconds off the pace of the McLaren of Lando Norris in third practice and he told his engineer he felt like that was the car's limit. "I cannot go any faster in the corners," he added. "It's just sliding from all four tyres."

    For Lewis Hamilton, who won the inaugural race here in 2021, he's just hoping he can make the top-10 shootout in Jeddah, never mind throw his hat into the ring for the pole spot. The seven-time world champion was more than a second adrift of the top spot in FP3, ending his hour in 12th place behind Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar.

  14. Williams looking strong

    Alex AlbonGetty Images

    The battle to be the best of the rest is shaping up to be another competitive fight this year and Williams have staked a claim for a possible Q3 appearance today, with both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz running in the top 10 in third practice. Albon finished sixth behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, while Spaniard Sainz was one place lower in seventh.

    It was a frustrating qualifying session for Albon last weekend in Bahrain, as he was denied a chance to compete in Q2 following a delay in deleting Nico Hulkenberg's Q1 time for track limits. Before the mistake, Albon had made the top-10 shootout at every race so far this season.

  15. Listen: Saudi Arabian GP preview

    Abbi Pulling and Andrew Benson join Harry to look ahead to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

    F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling and Andrew Benson join Harry to preview the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, diving into the intra-team dynamics at McLaren as both drivers battle for the championship title.

    The team also hear from both drivers, plus Max Verstappen, whose future at Red Bull is under growing scrutiny.

    Take a listen as we go along this afternoon.

  16. Norris tops final practice

    Lando NorrisGetty Images

    There were no major incidents or red flags during the final hour of practice, just good old-fashioned fast laps on the soft tyres.

    Lando Norris clocked the best time ahead of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, with the Briton 0.024 seconds quicker than the Aussie. George Russell put his Mercedes third on the timesheets - more than six tenths off Norris' marker - Charles Leclerc was fourth and defending champion Max Verstappen was fifth.

  17. Welcome back

    FansGetty Images

    Hello again, folks. Night has fallen in Saudi Arabia and now we get to see which driver can hold their nerve - on a track where one mistake can prove costly - and put themselves on pole position.

    The form book points to a McLaren one-two for tomorrow's race but could someone else spring a surprise tonight?

    Qualifying begins at 18:00 BST.

    This session is online-only this afternoon, so click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page to tune in. You can also listen via most smart speakers by asking BBC Sounds to play Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying.

    Harry Benjamin, Andrew Benson and McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird will be with us shortly.

  18. Norris and Piastri clear of the pack in final practice

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Lando NorrisGetty Images

    Lando Norris edged McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by just 0.024 seconds to head final practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

    The McLarens were a massive 0.627 seconds quicker than Mercedes’ George Russell in third place, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

    Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari continued to struggle.

    The seven-time champion was down in 12th place and 0.408secs slower than Leclerc, complaining of having “just no grip” and sounding lost in conversations with his engineer over the radio.

    Williams’ Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, were ahead of the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda, while Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed the top 10.

    Although the margin between McLaren and their pursuers seemed unusually large, it was in the same region as the advantage they appeared to have on the race-simulation runs in Friday practice.

  19. Back for qualifying build-up from 17:30 BST

    Lando NorrisGetty Images

    The polesitter is usually the car who goes on to win in Saudi Arabia, so grabbing that front-row spot is vital tonight. From what we've seen in third practice, the odds it'll be McLaren versus McLaren are pretty high.

    Time for another Easter egg - please, join me. Once we're all full of sugar again. let's come back together and build up to qualifying from 17:30 BST.

    Q1 goes green at 18:00.

    See you shortly!

  20. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator

    It's almost a dog fight in that midfield battle, that is how small the margins are.

    You could put in a decent lap and be a tenth off your team-mate, but now that's going to be five or six positions.