Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car followed by McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

On Easter Sunday, the 20 Formula 1 (F1) drivers took to the grid in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the fifth race of the scheduled 24 for this season. Several familiar storylines played out again, but the skills every driver brings to their team were on full display and very intriguing to watch.

The design of F1 cars is completely dependent on the downforce pushing the car to the ground. A fact I always find fascinating is that F1 cars could actually adhere themselves upside down to a ceiling in a tunnel and continue driving upside down if they could manage to get there in the first place.

During a race, when a driver manages to catch up with a car in front of them, drivers frequently complain about “dirty air.” With all the aerodynamic additions to a modern F1 car, they’re pushing a lot of air behind them in a turbulent manner. This disrupts the airflow over any following cars, meaning all of the aerodynamic improvements won’t be able to work as they’re supposed to. This causes increased wear on their tires and, often, an inability to close up the distance further to be able to pass.

The Drag Reduction System, or DRS, was implemented in 2011 to help counteract this. The rear wings of the F1 cars have a system where they can drop part of the flap to create a gap, letting the air flow through and increasing the airflow over their car meaning they’ll improve their top speed significantly.

Drivers can’t always use the system, however. There are designated areas on each track (from one to three, depending on the circuit) where drivers can deploy their DRS if they are within one second of the car in front of them. This incentivizes drivers to get close to one another and gives them the assist to possibly pass that other car, counteracting the “dirty air” they get otherwise.

There were several instances of DRS being very important in Jeddah as wily drivers were able to use it defensively to keep positions instead. In particular, Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari and Carlos Sainz in his Williams deployed DRS in the opposite way of the original intent.

For Hamilton, this was just part of an intelligent competition he had with the much faster McLaren of Lando Norris. When Norris came to pass Hamilton in the last corner of the race track, Hamilton seemingly let him right by.

The DRS detection point in the last corner was moved past the apex, so when Hamilton let Norris by, Hamilton was registered as the driver behind and closer than 1 second, meaning his DRS was enabled. Given the long straight they just turned onto, Hamilton breezed by Norris.

On the next lap, Norris seemed content to be behind Hamilton, but Hamilton slowed quickly and Norris, caught out, bolted to the left and went around Hamilton, setting up the exact same scenario a second time. Hamilton breezed by Norris once again, much to Norris’ frustration.

The third time into the corner, Norris kept a larger distance behind Hamilton, securing himself the DRS and easily passed Hamilton on the straight. Lesson learned, but loads of time lost for Norris.

Carlos Sainz used DRS to win a race with Ferrari last season by keeping the other competitive cars behind him. If you are the car in the lead and the next car is within a second behind you, you can be a sitting duck. However, if you are able to create a series of cars who all have DRS, then you can create a chain that prevents the benefit from really kicking in for anyone.

This “DRS train” concept was interesting as the race became not about who was fastest, but how slow could Sainz go while still keeping his position. That is the antithesis of what racing usually means, and really caught people out.

Towards the end of the race in Jeddah, Isack Hadjar in a Racing Bull was catching up to Alex Albon and Sainz, the two Williams teammates. Individually, Hadjar could’ve caught and passed them both before the race was done.

Williams got on the radio to Sainz and he slowed his pace to let Albon catch up and benefit from DRS. Since Albon wasn’t going to pass his teammate giving him the benefit, they together eliminated the DRS benefit Hadjar would’ve received to pass them.

At the front of the race, there were also displays of impressive racecraft from the moment the lights went out and the race began. Max Verstappen managed to put his Red Bull on another very impressive pole position, beating out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri (the heavy favorite for pole) by 0.010 seconds.

Many were thinking Piastri would play things safe and settle for second place, not pushing things with Verstappen who is notoriously hard to pass. Piastri had a significantly better start than Verstappen and had his car mostly ahead going into the first corner, but their cars were side by side.

This is where things get fiercely divided. Piastri had his front tires ahead of Verstappen’s going into the first corner, meaning it was, by the regulations, Piastri’s corner. Verstappen was still alongside and had every right to be there, meaning Piastri needs to give him room. There is a finite amount of space, however, and Piastri went wide enough that Verstappen had no more room and went off track.

Verstappen came back on track in first place, despite repassing Piastri off track by cutting the corner. Was it Piastri’s fault because he didn’t leave Verstappen enough room on track or was it Verstappen’s fault because Piastri was ahead and he should’ve backed out of a corner he couldn’t make otherwise?

This is a hallmark of Verstappen’s racecraft. He adamantly refuses to be passed on track and will go to any length to stay ahead, even if it means passing off track. He’d rather let the stewards decide the outcome than let another driver pass by him.

For Piastri, it was surprising, pleasantly so, to see him so aggressive. And, in this case, it completely paid off. Verstappen stayed ahead of him for the first part of the race, not giving the place back, and simply got a five second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Piastri took an early pitstop and made sure to push to stay ahead of that five second gap created by the penalty.

Verstappen was livid. Hopefully he’ll look back at the incident and realize the stewards were right and could’ve given him a ten second penalty instead of a more lenient five second one, but being less than three seconds behind Piastri at the end of the race keeps the “what if…” fresh in the mind.

Piastri drove a stellar race and deserved the win. Piastri won F3 and F2 in his time in those series, so maybe an F1 championship in just his third season isn’t such a crazy thought.

Lando Norris, Piastri’s McLaren teammate, was the points leader heading into the race, but has been his own worst enemy in keeping that standing. This continued in Jeddah when he crashed in the third round of qualifying, resulting in a tenth place start. He did manage to get up to fourth place, but other issues during the race, like his fight with Hamilton, kept him from getting any higher.

As with most races, feelings are all over the place for the drivers based on their performances. Verstappen will probably be stewing for a couple weeks. Norris will continue to search for a way to overcome himself and get back to form. Piastri will be riding high on his performance lately, winning three of the first five races, and looking to continue his stellar driving. Ferrari and Mercedes will search for answers on how to improve their cars and continue trying to get a win.

What better place is there for things to keep heating up than Miami, Florida? The next race is the first of three this year in the United States and takes place on Sunday, May 4, at 4 p.m. local time.