After a disappointing result in Bahrain, Max Verstappen bounced back in a big way, capturing the pole in dramatic fashion in Saudi Arabia.
His time in Q3 edged McLaren's Oscar Piastri by a tenth of a second, in the closest race for the top spot in 2025. Mercedes' George Russell will start in third.
Points leader Lando Norris has not fared well in the Middle East. After starting sixth in Bahrain but still finding the podium, he crashed out in qualifying on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, resulting in a red flag. He'll need to scramble again, starting 10th.
Read on for our free betting picks for the Saudi Arabia GP and F1 odds analysis.
2025 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix odds
| Driver |  |
|---|---|
 Oscar Piastri |
-110 |
 Max Verstappen |
+137 |
| Lando Norris |
+800 |
 George Russell |
+1100 |
 Charles Leclerc |
+4000 |
| Lewis Hamilton |
+10000 |
| Kimi Antonelli |
+10000 |
 Carlos Sainz |
+25000 |
 Pierre Gasly |
+50000 |
 Yuki Tsunoda |
+50000 |
| Alex Albon |
+35000 |
 Liam Lawson |
+150000 |
| Fernando Alonso |
+200000 |
 Oliver Bearman |
+200000 |
| Isack Hadjar |
+200000 |
| Esteban Ocon |
+200000 |
| Jack Doohan |
+250000 |
| Lance Stroll |
+250000 |
 Nico Hulkenberg |
+300000 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto |
+300000 |
Odds as of 4-19.
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 post-qualifying picks
Race prediction: Verstappen to Win (+137 at bet365)
For the fourth year running, Red Bull has laid claim to the Pole at the Jeddah, with Verstappen taking back-to-back lead spots. He's going for his second consecutive win here, and third in the last four seasons.
It's been a wildly up-and-down year for Verstappen, who picked up a win in Japan — the only race where he's won the pole. He's been off the podium in back-to-back races, finishing fourth in China and then sixth in Bahrain after qualifying in seventh.
Piastri is the betting favorite at -110, as he's the only driver to win multiple races in the early season. While he was just narrowly edged from the pole under the lights at the Jeddah, I'm betting on Verstappen's experience on this track to pull him to victory.
Best bet: Russell podium finish (+100 at bet365)
Entering his fifth career race at the Jeddah, George Russell has yet to find the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with a fourth-place finish in 2023, while starting in third position.
It's been a solid year for the Mercedes driver, who had landed on the podium in three of four races in 2025, with a fifth-place start and a fifth-place finish in Japan.
Surprisingly, Russell has plus odds to land on the podium Sunday, as he battled car issues in Bahrain to keep his place in the Top 3. He was incredibly quick in qualifying with a time of 1:27.407, which was destined for second until Verstappen's late surge in P3.
I like Russell claiming his first career podium finish in Saudi Arabia.
Previous F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix winners
| Year | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2023 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2021 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
Understanding F1 betting odds
The most popular way to bet on Formula 1 odds is by simply picking the winner of a particular race. Other popular F1 betting options include which car/constructor will win and whether or not a particular race car driver will end up on the podium with a Top-3 finish.
F1 race odds usually look like this:
- Charles Leclerc +400
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $400 if Leclerc wins that particular race. If one driver is especially dominant, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of that driver's odds like this:
- Max Verstappen -120
This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.
