Formula 1: How to watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on TV and what to know

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton competes during the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix (AFP)
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Updated 17 April 2025
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Formula 1: How to watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on TV and what to know

  • It’s the fifth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season

JEDDAH: Here’s a guide that tells you what you need to know about the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix. It’s the fifth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
How to watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on TV
— In the US, ESPN.
— Other countries are listed here.
What is the Saudi Arabian GP schedule?
– Friday: First and second practice.
– Saturday: Third practice and qualifying.
– Sunday: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, 50 laps of the 6.2-kilometer (3.8-mile) Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Where is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taking place?
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is one of the newest venues on the F1 calendar after making its debut in 2021. Hosting F1 is part of Saudi Arabia’s push to become a major player in global sports. Jeddah is fast for a street circuit and walls close to the track mean the slightest error brings heavy punishment. It’s the second night race in a row after last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is the only driver to win in Jeddah twice. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez have one win each.
What happened in the last race?
Oscar Piastri became the first driver to win two races this season with a dominant drive from pole position to victory. It was a dramatic race behind him as George Russell contended with electrical problems and held off Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris to take second. Verstappen had problems with his Red Bull and placed sixth. Norris leads the 2025 driver standings by three points from Piastri.
What do I need to know about F1 so far?
Get caught up:
— Oscar Piastri cruises to win at Bahrain Grand Prix, with Lando Norris third
— Michael Schumacher’s signature on helmet worn by F1 champ Jackie Stewart at charity drive in Bahrain
— Lando Norris feels ‘nowhere near’ his best as Formula 1 title contest heats up inside McLaren
— Concerns mount at Red Bull after Max Verstappen’s ‘catastrophe’ as F1 heads to Saudi Arabia
— FIA meeting on future F1 engines ends without a commitment to bringing back V10s
Key stats at Jeddah
58 — McLaren’s gap over its nearest challenger Mercedes in the constructors’ standings shows how it’s the only team to be consistently fast at all tracks so far.
69 — Verstappen has scored all but two of Red Bull’s 71 points this season. Yuki Tsunoda’s ninth place in Bahrain was the first time any of his teammates finished in the top 10 since November.
7 — Rookie Oliver Bearman made a splash on debut in Saudi Arabia last year with seventh place as an emergency stand-in for Ferrari. Now at Haas, that’s still Bearman’s best finish in F1.
What are they saying?
“I’m just nowhere near the capability that I have, which hurts to say.” — Lando Norris.
“We still have a lot of work to do on the car to get us where we need to be.” — Max Verstappen.
“I’d love to say so, but I don’t think we are, to be honest. McLaren are just too dominant right now.” — George Russell says Mercedes isn’t a title contender.

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Trump lauds Infantino for ‘record breaking’ World Cup

Updated 25 sec ago
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Trump lauds Infantino for ‘record breaking’ World Cup

  • Trump said: “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman”
  • Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump turned the spotlight onto FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, praising the football boss’ organization of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Infantino has been criticized in recent months by some observers who accuse him of drawing uncomfortably close to Trump, whose administration has taken a high-profile role in US preparations for what will be the biggest and most logistically-challenging World Cup ever.
The soccer boss attended Trump’s inauguration in January and has previously said the US leader deserved global recognition for his role in brokering a ceasefire in the Middle East.
FIFA plans to unveil its own peace prize during the draw ceremony with Trump the expected recipient. Spotting Infantino in the audience during a ceremony in Washington marking the signing of a peace treaty between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trump congratulated him for what he described as record-breaking ticket demand for the first 48-team World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Gianni, thank you very much,” Trump said. “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman.”
Teams will learn their group-stage fate later on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in a draw for a tournament that stretches across three countries and 16 cities, from Vancouver to Mexico City.
Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before. “I can report to you that we have sold more tickets than any country anywhere in the world at this stage of the game,” he said, adding that demand had already “broken all records”. Over one million tickets have been purchased so far by fans from 212 countries, FIFA said last month.
After the presidential shout-out, Infantino did not speak publicly.
The FIFA president is overseeing his third men’s World Cup, after Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.