Two F1 rookies scored points in Round 5 of the 2025 Formula 1 season as 2021 FIA Formula 2 Champion Oscar Piastri took the race win.
The Aussie, who won his title with the PREMA team, beat Max Verstappen’s Red Bull thanks to a five-second time penalty for the Dutchman, allowing Piastri to scoop the 25 points and the championship lead.
Only Mercedes Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar reached the points in an evening of mixed fortunes for the latest group of F2 graduates.
Oliver Bearman was 13th in his Haas, Jack Doohan 17th for Alpine and reigning F2 champion, Gabriel Bortoleto, was 18th with Sauber.
‘Tough race’ says Antonelli
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Jeddah was the teams’ ‘worst performance of the year so far’, but that didn’t stop 18-year-old Antonelli finishing just one position behind his team mate George Russell.
The former PREMA driver admitted to battling understeer in the opening laps on the medium tyres.
“The front tyres started to degrade early on, so our pace wasn’t strong in the early stages. I felt better on the Hard compound after our pit stop though and our speed in the final 10 laps was competitive,” the Italian said.
He added that the triple-header of races in Japan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had been “intense” and that he had learnt a lot, which he’s aiming to put into practice at Round 6 in Miami.
How was that, Kimi? ??
A solid effort by our rookie to finish P6 on a circuit as demanding and difficult as Jeddah! pic.twitter.com/hwkA6mMLsG
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 20, 2025
Hadjar ‘really happy’ with hard-earnt point
2024 F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar said he was pleased with how his evening in Jeddah panned out, saying he got a good start and capitalised on a strong strategy from the team.
He started on the hard compound tyres and found himself chasing down the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in the closing stages.
The Grove-team would deploy clever DRS tactics to keep Hadjar at bay.
“If they were not team mates we could have finished P8. It was definitely tough and I struggled, even though we made a few mistakes it was a well executed race, it’s the racing I want to do,” the Frenchman said.
The result continues Hadjar’s outperformance of new team mate Liam Lawson since the Kiwi was dropped by Red Bull after just two rounds.
Struggles for remaining rookies
Oliver Bearman admitted his Haas team was “struggling” in Saudi Arabia, saying it limited his and the teams potential.
The Brit said they weren’t able to match the Racing Bull cars, adding that he needed to switch from medium to hard compound tyres early.
He said: “Overall, the triple-header has been positive as we’ve been fighting for the points there or thereabouts for three races now, and on three very different tracks so that’s positive.”
Brazilian Bortoleto called the weekend in Jeddah “a big learning experience”, saying his race was “frustrating”.
He said: “We chose to switch to hard tyres during the Safety Car at the start, but by the final 15 laps, they were completely gone and I was just focused on bringing the car home.
Bortoleto did have a near-miss with his manager, Fernando Alonso, as the Aston Martin driver caught him after a pit-stop.
He moved to the right hand side of the track at Turn 1, having not seen the approaching Alonso.
They made contact, but both were thankfully able to continue.
While one Australian was winning the race, another was enduring a difficult day, filled with “challenges”.
Alpine’s Jack Doohan stopped during an early Safety Car period, with the aim of running to the end. However that plan failed and Doohan was only able to pass Bortoleto after his second stop.
But he’s vowed to bounce back in Miami: “We will spend some time in the simulator in the coming days and work together with the engineers to learn as much as we can from the weekend to continue to unlock more potential from the car.”
Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
