Cricket Jon: Max is a great driver, but he has to give that place back. We all know he would be saying so on the radio if it was the other way round.

Ash Wilkinson: Max Verstappen loves an off-track overtake in Jeddah, doesn’t he…

The message to Max Verstappen is to get your head down now that you're carrying that five-second penalty. The Dutchman replies 'simply lovely', but swap out 'simply' for a naughty word.

Oscar Piastri is clocking fastest laps and inching closer to the Red Bull man from second place.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It was more Yuki Tsunoda's fault than Pierre Gasly's because I think Tsunoda was the car going for the overtake.

When you hit the back of another car you're always at fault pretty much.

Max Verstappen is still leading this race, however, with Oscar Piastri second, George Russell third and Charles Leclerc fourth. Lando Norris has moved up to eighth.

The safety car heads in and we're back racing againin Jeddah. The stewards have made their decision and it's a five-second time penalty for Max Verstappen for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Image source, Getty Images

Pierre Gasly was coming up on the outside of Yuki Tsunoda's Red Bull and as the Frenchman understeers slightly, the two cars end up touching. I think both drivers may be out of this Saudi Arabian Grand Prix now.

Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto also came in for a stop to switch to the hard tyres.

Race control have noted the Turn One incident between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. The Australian is convinced Verstappen was never going to reach the corner.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

This is what Max Verstappen does, he forces the stewards to make decisions. He does whatever he needs to do on track to keep the advantage and then leaves it up to the stewards to call it. Usually on average they generally back him.

The safety car is deployed early as Yuki Tsunoda gets going again and makes it back to the pits for a check-up. Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, is still waiting for assistance.

Jack Doohan and others dive in early for a change of tyres.

"He needs to give that back, I was ahead."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

I think there's going to be a safety car and I think McLaren are going to be on the radio very quickly to say the Max Verstappen has to give that position back because he cut the chicane to keep hold of the lead.

Round five is green!

Oscar Piastri is alongside Max Verstappen at lights out and hustling the Red Bull! The world champion stays ahead and keeps his lead - but he did go off the track.

Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly have tangled! The yellow flags are out and now we have a safety car on the first lap.

Image source, Reuters

Rookie Isack Hadjar and the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg are also on the hard tyre to start with, so keep your on the C3 cars.

Max Verstappen has reached his grid position, followed by Oscar Piastri and George Russell.

Who leads into Turn One?

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I think Max Verstappen will lead from the front assuming he gets a good start, but he will have to overwork his tyres.

Oscar Piastri can afford to sit there and wait for Verstappen to potentially run out of rubber and then he can pounce.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

What McLaren need is for Lando Norris to get some free air to be able to use his pace. He was blisteringly fast on the race simulation runs in Friday practice, but overtaking is difficult.

Using the hard tyre at the start which is not what most of the top 10 will do gives him a chance to be on an offset strategy and get that free air, but it does expose him to the safety car.

Max Verstappen leads the field for the formation lap.

Lando Norris is the only car in the top 10 not to start on the mediums. The McLaren man has gone for the hard compound from lights out.

Image source, Getty Images

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Air temperature 28.5C and the track 38.7C. A light wind from the NNW.

Dry, with no chance of rain. Enjoy the race!

McLaren are holding firm at the head of the field in the constructors' championship but in the midfield fight, places are changing with each race. Haas' double points in Bahrain has lifted the team above Williams and into fifth spot.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Who will leave Saudi as the championship leader? Lando Norris holds the top spot now but team-mate Oscar Piastri, three points behind, and polesitter Max Verstappen, eight points off, are in prime position to make a power play today.

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Pirelli 2025

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is, barring unusual circumstances, a slam-dunk one-stop race on the medium and hard tyres. The hard is the best race tyre; the soft is unlikely to be used as it is too fragile. The undercut - stopping first to gain time on fresh tyres - is strong. But the risk teams will have to balance is the high likelihood of a safety car - there has been one in every race at Jeddah so far.

So, stop too early, you might be on track to gain position, but if the safety car then comes out before your rival stops, you will lose out, because a stop takes about 20 seconds under green-flag conditions and just over half that under a safety car.

Despite the three DRS zones, overtaking is not easy, although easier than in Japan two races ago. And there will likely be some DRS games - drivers will be reluctant to pass into the last corner because that risks being passed back by DRS down the pit straight. The trick is to be close enough into the last corner to get DRS, but not ahead, to then benefit past the pits.

"The world's fastest street circuit" is the title the Jeddah Corniche Circuit has been given since its arrival in 2021. Featuring 27 corners (the most on the F1 calendar) and average speeds of 250km/h (second only to Monza), the aim of the 6.174 km fast, sweeping track is to really challenge the drivers. With the walls as close as Monaco, the past four races have featured safety car periods, so bear that in mind when planning your strategy...