Ferrari had been off the pace in the early stages of the 2025 Formula 1 season, with neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton landing a podium finish—until the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix changed that narrative. At the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Leclerc delivered a determined drive to claim P3, marking Ferrari’s first trip to the rostrum this season.
Starting from fourth after a tough qualifying session, Leclerc played the long game. He extended his first stint on medium tires while maintaining competitive lap times, then pitted for fresh hard tires on lap 29—setting himself up for a strong finish. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Lando Norris, running an alternative strategy, was on a charge with faster medium tires in the closing laps.
Given McLaren’s pace, many expected Norris to breeze past the Ferrari. But Leclerc held his ground, fending off the Brit to cross the line just over a second ahead.
But there’s more to the story—and it involves Lewis Hamilton, who unknowingly helped his Ferrari teammate defend that podium spot.
In the race’s early stages, Norris found himself stuck behind Hamilton’s SF-25. Using his veteran savvy, Hamilton allowed Norris to pass just before the DRS detection zone entering the final corner—then used DRS on the main straight to immediately retake the position. It was a classic Hamilton chess move.
This cat-and-mouse game continued for two laps before Norris figured out what was happening. On his third attempt, he stayed behind Hamilton into the detection zone and finally made a clean DRS pass into Turn 1. But by then, valuable time had already been lost.
That delay proved crucial. By the time Norris reached Leclerc, the gap was too narrow to attempt a clean overtake, and Leclerc held firm to take third place.
Interestingly, Leclerc himself had used a similar DRS tactic during a thrilling duel with Max Verstappen at the same circuit in 2022. This time, though, it was Hamilton’s experience—particularly from his intense 2021 battle with Verstappen in Jeddah—that created the opening Leclerc needed.
Hamilton may have been playing defense for his own race, but his veteran tactics inadvertently shielded Leclerc long enough to secure a well-earned podium.
The result not only gave Ferrari a much-needed boost but also marked a milestone for Leclerc, who is now tied with Fernando Alonso for the fifth-most podiums in Ferrari history—behind legends like Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello, and Michael Schumacher.