It was a tough Sunday under the lights in Jeddah, as Mercedes battled tyre overheating issues to bring both cars home inside the top six.
George Russell started third on the grid with Kimi Antonelli just behind in fifth, both opting for the conventional Medium-Hard one-stop strategy. The pair held station through the opening phase, but it soon became apparent that both were struggling to keep tyre temperatures under control in the intense heat.
Lando Norris, running an alternate Hard-Medium strategy, managed to slip past Kimi shortly before the first round of pit stops—Antonelli boxed on lap 19, followed by George a lap later.
While George successfully covered off an undercut attempt from Charles Leclerc, Ferrari played the long game, extending Leclerc’s opening stint on the Mediums to build a significant tyre life advantage. That strategic edge proved decisive, with Leclerc and Norris both sweeping past in the latter stages of the race as George nursed his tyres home to P5.
Kimi, meanwhile, showed impressive composure and maturity in the final stint, managing his Hard tyres well to hold off a charging Lewis Hamilton and secure P6—his best result of the season to date.
Despite the setbacks, the team now sits on 111 points in the Constructors’ Championship—more than double the tally at this stage in 2024 (52 points after five rounds). The team now regroups at base before heading to Miami in two weeks for the sixth round of the season.
Driver Summary:
| Driver | Grid | Result | Fastest Lap |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Russell | P3 | P5 | 1:32.893 |
| Kimi Antonelli | P5 | P6 | 1:32.396 |
Strategy:
| Driver | Start Tyre | Pit Stop (Lap) | Second Stint |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 63 | Medium | Lap 20 | Hard |
| No. 12 | Medium | Lap 19 | Hard |
Driver Reactions
George Russell:
*“Tonight was all about the tyres, and unfortunately, we struggled with overheating. I was pushing early to stay with Verstappen, but it became clear we didn’t have the pace to maintain that fight. The tyre age offset made it impossible to hold off Leclerc and Norris, and in the final laps, my tyres just dropped off. P5 was all we could realistically manage today.
We’ll take what positives we can
. We understand our weakness right now and we’re focused on fixing it. On a tough day, P5 is still a solid haul of points.” *
Kimi Antonelli:
*“It was a hard race but I’m happy to finish P6. I had a lot of understeers on the Mediums, and our early pace wasn’t great, but once we switched to the Hards, I felt more comfortable and managed to keep Hamilton behind in the closing laps.
It’s been a tough triple-header, but I’ve learned a lot. I’ll take the next couple of weeks to reset and come back stronger for Miami.” *
Team Leadership Insight
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO:
*“This was our most difficult race of the season. We had hopes of fighting for the podium, but the tyre overheating killed our pace. George and Kimi did everything they could with what they had.
We now turn our focus to understanding the issues and fixing them—Miami will be another hot race, and we can’t afford to repeat this performance.” *
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director:
*“We knew from early in the stints that we had an issue. Both compounds overheated quickly, and while our drivers managed them well, we couldn’t match the pace of our rivals once they pushed on fresher tyres.
Still, we’re scoring solid points consistently, and that’s kept us in the hunt. Now the job is to turn that consistency into something more competitive starting in Miami.” *