IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we’re excited about ahead of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Two races down and one to go in the first triple header of the 2025 season, and it has already been a run that has seen fluctuating form at the front. Now onto the latest test on a high-speed street circuit, plenty of teams and drivers have work to do heading to Saudi Arabia...

Norris seeking a response to Piastri’s showing

It was a weekend of two halves at McLaren in Bahrain, with Oscar Piastri enjoying an extremely productive three days, securing pole position and taking a comfortable victory to close to within three points of the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

READ MORE: McLaren bosses hail ‘perfect weekend’ from Bahrain winner Piastri – but warn that it’s ‘a matter of time’ before ‘epic battle’ with Norris

On the other side of the garage, however, Lando Norris was struggling far more. Norris acknowledged that he was finding it particularly difficult to deliver the performance he needed during Qualifying, as he wasn’t clicking with the car over one lap.

That left him sixth on the grid, and a time penalty for being out of position at the start slightly negated an excellent opening lap and hurt his chances of fighting for the win, eventually finishing third behind George Russell.

Norris says he has a lot of work to do to analyse why he has been unable to get comfortable in this year’s McLaren, and with Piastri now boasting two victories to the championship leader’s one, it is becoming ever-more important that Norris finds answers quickly before his team mate potentially overtakes him in the standings.

To emphasise that importance, Jeddah is a track that Piastri will arrive at full of confidence. Although McLaren have not had strong starts to some recent seasons, there was a relatively competitive showing in Saudi Arabia last year, where it was Piastri who again had the upper hand, outqualifying Norris (one of only four times he did so in 2024) and finishing fourth ahead of Norris in eighth.

READ MORE: Norris rues ‘messy race’ after P3 finish in Bahrain as he vows to ‘step it up’ at Saudi Arabian GP

Which version of Red Bull will we get?

If Norris is feeling downbeat about his performance in Bahrain, then he only needs to look at one of his other title rivals to see that not everyone is having a smooth time of things so far this season.

One week on from Max Verstappen’s excellent victory in Japan, there was a very different feeling within Red Bull on Sunday as the defending champion struggled to sixth place in a car that was uncompetitive throughout the weekend.

Verstappen only qualified seventh amid brake issues, and then the race exposed Red Bull’s weaknesses when it comes to car balance, that have an impact on tyre management and ultimately race pace. There were also a number of problems in the pit lane, with the driver signal lights not working during the race, and a slow stop for Verstappen due to a stuck tyre for good measure.

It was the sort of weekend that shows just what a great job Verstappen has been doing to stay in title contention at this early stage, but also highlights how severe the Red Bull problems can be if the team are unable to get the car in a good set-up window. On a very different track, it’s a chance to reset, but there are no guarantees of a return to Suzuka form.

READ MORE: ‘Everything went wrong’ – Verstappen rues problems after P6 in Bahrain as he reflects on ‘tough’ situation for Red Bull

Hamilton making progress at Ferrari

Perhaps a bit like Norris and Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton has not been totally comfortable with his machinery this season, but for different reasons.

The seven-time World Champion has called it an “alien” feeling to be driving a very different car at Ferrari than he was used to at Mercedes for the 12 years prior, and he has been trying to understand what his new car needs from him in terms of his driving style.

After finishing fifth in Bahrain, Hamilton said he felt he had made strides behind the wheel, particularly during the middle stint of the race when he described himself as “aligned” with what the car required.

Hamilton called it arguably the most valuable weekend of the season so far based on what he had learned in Bahrain, with the example being set by Charles Leclerc in terms of set-up directions also proving helpful. But saying it is one thing, and actually putting those lessons into practice, and seeing results, is another, so Hamilton will be targeting further confirmation that he’s on the right path this weekend.

READ MORE: ‘I know what to search for’ – Hamilton hopeful after learning ‘a lot’ about his Ferrari during Bahrain GP

All 10 teams on the board

Speaking of being on the right path, it’s clear we’re set for a remarkably competitive season behind the top four teams, too, after Alpine became the final one to score points this year.

Pierre Gasly’s strong weekend in Bahrain yielded a seventh-place finish and moved Alpine level on points with Sauber and into ninth place in the Teams’ Championship, just 14 points behind Haas who now sit fifth.

That position for Haas was helped by a double-points finish of their own in Bahrain – their second such result in three races – but Williams are just a point behind.

The competitive picture between all six teams fighting for points has ebbed and flowed significantly already this year, largely due to the fine margins that there are between them. A particularly favourable track layout or a well-executed strategy can promote a team firmly up into the points, while the opposite can see them struggling to escape Q1.

A very different test to Bahrain

The first triple header of the season ends with a stark contrast between two circuits, as the big braking zones and highly abrasive track surface in Bahrain is replaced by one of the most spectacular layouts of the season in Jeddah.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a thrill ride for the drivers thanks to its many high-speed corners, rapid changes of direction and long flat-out sections, all while threading their cars through the walls that only accentuate the speed and will punish mistakes.

POWER RANKINGS: Who made all the right moves under the lights at the Bahrain GP?

It’s a much smoother track surface too, but one similarity with Bahrain are high temperatures and floodlit running, so teams will be working hard to find a competitive balance during FP2 as it offers the most representative conditions.

McLaren remain favourites thanks to their strong high-speed performance, but they admit Bahrain was likely one of their stronger tracks when it came to their tyre usage advantage. As the swing between Suzuka and Bahrain for some teams showed, there could be an entirely different competitive picture this weekend.

DISCOVER MORE...

Piastri beats Verstappen and Russell to pole in dramatic Imola Qualifying session

HIGHLIGHTS: Piastri pips Verstappen to pole at Imola as red flags disrupt Qualifying

Verstappen reveals details of Nurburgring Nordschleife test after lap record speculation

F1 EXPLAINS: What happens inside an F1 garage during a race - with Haas

BEHIND THE SCENES: How the upcoming ‘F1’ movie plays into the sport’s great underdog tradition