That gap between Lando Norris and Ollie Bearman is narrowing.

Who will finish sixth? I genuinely can’t call it at the moment.

Oh, no! Another bad stop for Sauber earlier ruined Zhou Guanyu’s race.

With a handful of laps left, Max Verstappen leads, with Sergio Perez on course to complete a 1-2 for an untouchable Red Bull team.

Charles Leclerc is in third but is streets ahead of Oscar Piastri.

Currently, Ollie Bearman is around 3.5s ahead of Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton is behind Norris, setting up a three-way fight for seventh.

The rookie has delivered a superb performance here.

At his present speed, Ollie Bearman will be caught by Lando Norris in around three laps. Then, it’s all about defending for the youngster.

Lando Norris has been shown a black and white flag for weaving on the straight. The first couple of weaves were OK, but not the third.

He pulled 1.5s away from Lewis Hamilton, so will think it was worth it.

Lando Norris has looked to creatively shake off Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton is lighting up the timing screen on his fresh rubber and Norris is ailing somewhat in front of him, forcing him to scrap for every inch.

We’re all set for a pretty explosive finale.

Oscar Piastri is fourth, with Fernando Alonso fifth.

Behind them, George Russell is sixth, followed by Ollie Bearman.

Lando Norris is looking to fend off Lewis Hamilton’s advances.

Lando Norris has now pitted.

He came out a whole second ahead of Lewis Hamilton in P8 but does look vulnerable to that marauding Mercedes.

Oliver Bearman is now running in seventh.

The door’s certainly open for Mercedes here as they fight for points.

Fernando Alonso touched the inside wall at Turn Nine but looked to have escaped unharmed. He’s running in fifth place.

That was a proper stint from Lewis Hamilton.

He was finally called in for a new set of tyres.

Oscar Piastri will be delighted with that.

Aaaaagh, agony for Oscar Piastri again.

He finally completed the move on Lewis Hamilton but slammed on his brakes and cut the chicane, forcing him to hand the place back.

He’ll be absolutely kicking himself in that cockpit.

A special shoutout for Haas, meanwhile. Kevin Magnussen’s stout defence looks to have opened up a big enough gap for Nico Hulkenberg.

That would be a point that belongs to both drivers and the strategists.

That was brilliant from Alex Albon!

In what could be the best overtake of the evening, Albon’s Williams bombed down the inside of Yuki Tsunoda at Turn One.

He then held off Tsunoda’s riposte to take 14th place.

Max Verstappen might as well be whistling a merry tune out in front.

His gap over Sergio Perez is climbing toward the 9s mark.

Have the podium places already been sewn up? It feels like it.

Lando Norris has been told to switch back to Plan A, which would see him strap on the hard tyre at some point.

The problem is, however, that he would have to battle past several cars because he would emerge around P10.

Twists and turns to come.

Back to Ollie Bearman, who has been unable to close the gap on George Russell. He’s reduced it somewhat but is around 6s behind.

However, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton still need to pit, meaning spaces could open up for Bearman to further rise up the points.

This has been a steady, mature drive so far.

There’s a real DRS train building up from P12 downward.

Yuki Tsunoda looked to have finally got past Kevin Magnussen but the Haas fought back at Turn Two, forcing Tsunoda to back out.

‘What dangerous driving,’ Tsunoda complained over team radio.

That battle allowed Esteban Ocon to close in and take Tsunoda’s spot.

Here’s the top 10 as it stands…

It looks like Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton have taken a gamble.

They’re both seemingly holding out for a safety car. At the moment, they would reemerge outside the points if they opted to pit now.

Through goes Charles Leclerc on Lando Norris!

DRS down the main straight worked in his favour once again.

Behind, Lewis Hamilton remains in front of Oscar Piastri.

It’s been a torrid evening for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

He has 20 seconds worth of time penalties coming his way and he’s now sandwiched in 12, backing up traffic down to 16th behind him.

His main goal has now changed to protecting Nico Hulkenberg.

McLaren have complained to the stewards after seemingly spotting Lewis Hamilton moving around under break while defending.

Max Verstappen, who has disappeared over the horizon, has set another fastest lap, this time a 1:32.683. Absolutely blistering, that.

Even after a dummy, Oscar Piastri still couldn’t take Lewis Hamilton.

In second place, Sergio Perez has pulled almost seven seconds clear of Lando Norris. Again, it’s a Red Bull 1-2 and then the rest.

That battle for third is an intriguing one.

Most of the drama is coming from Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton.

You have to get up pretty early to get the better of the latter, as his younger rival is finding out around every twist and turn.

It remains a stalemate in that particular battle.

Elsewhere, Kevin Magnussen has another 10-second time penalty.

To recap, Max Verstappen leads in Jeddah, with Sergio Perez second and Lando Norris in third. Charles Leclerc is in fourth place.

Below that, Lewis Hamilton is delivering a defensive masterclass against Oscar Piastri, who just can’t smuggle his way past the veteran.

A couple of drivers are in desperate need of fresh tyres.

Ollie Bearman is up into ninth! Silky and smooth from the rookie.

He clearly learned his lesson from the earlier exchange and waited for DRS to kick in to power down the main straight and pull off the overtake,

Let’s see what his pace is like now in cleaner air.

So close for Ollie Bearman, who resembles a frustrated figure.

He initially got past Nico Hulkenberg but was then passed by the Haas, which retook the past using DRS down the home straight.

Hulkenberg used all of his years of experience there.

Below the podium spots, Oscar Piastri mounted another challenge on Lewis Hamilton, forcing the Mercedes to switch to defensive mode.

Hamilton does need to pit and that would hurt him as it stands.

Lando Norris, sitting in third, also needs to box.

Sergio Perez is back up to second to restore Red Bull’s 1-2.

Lando Norris looked to hold his ground but on his older tyres, his defence was in vain, with Perez using his fresher rubber to cruise past.

Those Red Bulls look absolutely untouchable. My word.

Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton lock horns!

The former looked to go around the outside of the seven-time world champion but couldn’t quite pull off the ambitious move.

He then cut Turn Two and handed the place back.

It’s penalties galore at the moment!

To summarise, Sergio Perez has a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release, having emerged in the path of Fernando Alonso earlier.

Five seconds will be added to his end of race time or he will wait for five seconds in the pit lane if he boxes again this evening.

Kevin Magnussen has a 10-second penalty, meanwhile.

No punishment necessary for Lando Norris for a potential jump start.

Charles Leclerc has overtaken Lewis Hamilton despite the Mercedes man looking to defend down the inside. The Ferrari is up to fourth.

Big news in the podium hunt – Sergio Perez has a FIVE second penalty.

Ollie Bearman, in his first race in F1, is up into the points!

It’s been confirmed that Sergio Perez is under investigation for the unsafe release from the pits. Fernando Alonso will be pleased with that.

Lando Norris is also under scrutiny from the stewards for a jump start.

Back comes Max Verstappen! He powered past Lando Norris to take P1.

Both Red Bulls hurtled down the main straight, with Sergio Perez then going down the inside of Lewis Hamilton to move into third.

All of a sudden, Norris looks vulnerable to Perez.

Lando Norris remains the race leader and he’s actually opened up his advantage over Max Verstappen to around half a second.

That McLaren certainly has impressive pace in clean air!

Sergio Perez, eyeing up third, closed the gap on Lewis Hamilton.

How unfortunate for Alex Albon!

Kevin Magnussen squeezed him toward the barrier and the two cars collided, with Albon perhaps losing a portion of his front wing.

Further down the road, Oliver Bearman locked up nastily. He then got past Yuki Tsunoda to move into 11th, behind Zhou Guanyu.

Zhou is still to stop, though.

The safety car has come in. We’re racing again!

Lando Norris still leads, with Max Verstappen second.

There was a crane on track hoisting Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.

Replays showed he made contact with the wall before his crash.

A sloppy error, unfortunately, and a lapse in concentration.

There was a potentially unsafe release in Red Bull’s double stack.

It looked like Fernando Alonso had to stand on the brakes to avoid bumping into the back of Sergio Perez in the pitlane melee.

That could be looked at. Let’s see.

Both Red Bulls are pitting!

It was an ambitious double stack but it worked brilliantly. Max Verstappen is back out in second and Sergio Perez is fourth.

The new race leader is Lando Norris, who stayed out.

Charles Leclerc also bolted on fresh rubber. He’s on the hards.

Lance Stroll is into the barrier! He’s OK, thankfully.

The safety car is out. Will any of the top 10 pit?

Box, box for Ollie Bearman, though!

Charles Leclerc has remained in the hunt for P2 and is still on Sergio Perez’s coattails, just about within DRS range.

That gap is fluctuating in favour of the Red Bull man, however.

Up the road, Max Verstappen’s lead is over the two-second mark.

Not much movement below the podium spots yet.

It’s a Red Bull 1-2 (shock, horror), with Charles Leclerc third.

Ollie Bearman has been told he is doing well by his engineer. The youngster, it seems, is faster than the cars ahead of him.

That could be a nudge for him to get past Yuki Tsunoda.

Sergio Perez has taken P2 after passing Charles Leclerc!

Leclerc defended valiantly on the first lap but slowly but surely, the chasing Red Bull closed the gap before making the move.

Perez had DRS and used it effectively to dive up the inside.

Superb from Oscar Piastri, who cruise past Fernando Alonso for P4.

Ollie Bearman looked left and right behind Yuki Tsunoda but couldn’t quite make a move. They came inches away from making contact.

Lando Norris looked to have jump-started at lights out. George Russell, who began the race behind the McLaren, immediately reported that.

Ollie Bearman looked to squeeze down the inside of Yuki Tsunoda.

Pierre Gasly has been told to return to the pitlane and retire the car. That looks to be a gearbox issue, which he flagged on the formation lap.

The front three are Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.

Verstappen is already out of DRS range.

Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez!

Perez immediately looked to edge ahead of the Ferrari but after some respectable racing, Leclerc gained the position back.

Ollie Bearman emerged unscathed in P11.

Max Verstappen has led the pack away bang on the hour.

Oliver Bearman and Valtteri Bottas are starting on soft tyres.

Everyone else will line up on the mediums.

Right, then. Let’s go racing! The formation lap is minutes away.

Max Verstappen, speaking to Sky Sports pre-race…

It’s a street circuit, a lot of things can happen, yellow flags, safety cars. From our side we changed a few things on the car comp to free practice so hopefully it is in the right direction for the race, I’m quite confident.

Just under 10 minutes to go until lights out now!

The drivers are chatting to their engineers on the grid and taking on last-minute instructions. Oliver Bearman was spotted chatting away.

Engineers were also seen working on Lewis Hamilton’s W15, while Jose Mourinho watched on and snapped several pictures on his phone.

The Special One refused to reveal his favourite F1 team, however…

Max Verstappen was told by Sky Sports that Helmut Marko would be staying at Red Bull at the end of his pre-race interview.

Asked if that was good news in light of his explosive comments yesterday, the world champion smiled and replied: ‘Absolutely.’

I expect we’ll hear plenty more on this later.

Ferrari’s Oliver Bearman, speaking to Sky Sports pre-race…

‘It’s going to be a difficult race.

‘I thought I was prepared for F1 until I got to this track which is maybe the most difficult one, so it’s a baptism of fire.

‘I think the main thing [in the race] is to just take it step by step and build on the performance of yesterday.

‘Today I think I’m going to execute things slightly cleaner.’

Wow! We haven’t even started racing yet!

Lando Norris headed out of McLaren’s garage and was halfway up the pitlane when Yuki Tsunoda’s RB also exited at speed.

It was a close call in the end and Norris, understandably, was furious.

‘Yeah, I nearly crashed,’ he told his crew over the radio.

Here we go! Drivers are able to start their reconnaissance laps.

Can you remember what you were doing at 18?

I’m fairly certain (correct me if I’m wrong), you weren’t racing F1 cars!

That’s the prospect again facing Ollie Bearman today, with the youngster stepping in for Carlos Sainz, who underwent surgery for appendicitis.

He performed admirably yesterday in qualifying and will line up in P11.

Let’s see if he can surge up the grid after lights out.

Here’s the latest on the Helmut Marko saga from Sky Germany.

They say Marko has agreed to stay on in his Red Bull advisory role.

‘It was a very good conversation,’ Marko said. ‘Of course there has to be calm back in the team. That’s a priority. We agreed on all points.

‘I’ll continue here. The end of my contract is still three years away. But as I said, there has to be calm.’

Is that the power of Max Verstappen or something else at play?

Jose Mourinho is in Saudi Arabia for this one!

As always, a host of celebrities have flocked to the circuit to take in the glitz and the glamour and the Special One is no exception.

He waved to adoring spectators as he strolled through the paddock.

Penny for his thoughts on who might win this one.

A big development in this story this afternoon.

Red Bull have publicly backed Christian Horner after his recent texting scandal, with Oliver Mintzlaff behind the team principal.

Speaking to Mail Sport in Saudi Arabia today, Mintzlaff, Red Bull’s head of sport, said: ‘We are happy with our management.’

What that means for Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko is uncertain.

I did not expect to see this man today!

Carlos Sainz, fresh from undergoing surgery for appendicitis, is at the circuit in Jeddah, having seemingly been discharged.

Presumably, Sainz will be nestled away inside Ferrari’s garage to watch promising youngster Ollie Bearman race around in his place.

Sainz was greeted by team principal Fred Vasseur at the door.

Their futures appear inextricably linked, but Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko appeared in good spirits before the drivers’ parade today.

Marko had been at the circuit for at least an hour before the world champion but the duo crossed paths, allowing them to share a smile.

Verstappen would be within his rights to quit Red Bull should the team suspend Marko, who has been dragged into Christian Horner’s scandal.

For now, they will plough on. The most interesting developments are likely to come long after the chequered flag has fluttered this evening.

All of the drivers have now arrived ahead of the parade.

We’ve spotted Lewis Hamilton, Oliver Bearman and Charles Leclerc already, with Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon also in the paddock.

Soon, they will pull on their race suits and get ready for their short trip around the circuit, during which they will also answer questions.

It’s now just under two hours until lights out!

Geri Halliwell, Christian Horner’s wife, is also in Saudi Arabia.

The couple are continuing to put on a very public display of unit despite Horner being dragged into a texting scandal in recent weeks.

Halliwell, a former Spice Girl, was also present in Bahrain last week.

She made her way past the waiting cameras before entering Red Bull’s hospitality suite – and she may well return for the podium ceremony later.

Helmut Marko has reported for duty in the paddock in Saudi Arabia.

He walked in accompanied by Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

There are plenty of rumours, of course, that he may be suspended by the team. Let’s see what he has to say to the media later on.

Could this be his last race weekend for Red Bull?

According to reports, Christian Horner is certain that Max Verstappen will honour his Red Bull contract despite speculation over his future.

The employee at the centre of Horner’s scandal has been suspended, with Mail Sport revealing she was told her evidence was ‘dishonest’.

In the build-up to today’s race, Verstappen has been linked with a move away after failing to publicly back his under-fire team principal.

His father, Jos, was seen in conversation with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who will have a seat available next year once Lewis Hamilton leaves.

But Horner is bullish about the prospect of holding onto Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz has undergone appendicitis surgery and is on the mend.

I’m sure he’ll be watching on from his hospital bed this evening.

Oliver Bearman is his stand-in and has been brilliant this weekend.

Lando Norris has wished Sainz well, saying: ‘Get well soon, matey.’

Speedy recovery from all of us, Carlos.

Oliver Bearman’s dad looked racked with worry while watching his son compete in yesterday’s qualifying session with Ferrari.

The 18-year-old came inches away from making contact with a wall on the ruthless circuit. Just one bump may have resulted in a big crash.

His father, David, was stood in Ferrari’s garage in front of the monitors and his emotions were visible for all around every twist and turn.

Bearman stood in for Carlos Sainz, who underwent surgery for appendicitis. We’ll provide an update on Sainz very shortly.

Speaking after the session, Bearman’s dad told Sky Sports: ‘I’m extremely proud. He did well and did an awesome job.’

Oliver Bearman, who will race for Ferrari today, has arrived in the paddock. Unsurprisingly, he looked on top of the world.

What a performance from him yesterday, by the way.

He was drafted in last minute as a replacement for Carlos Sainz and qualified in P11 in a car he had barely touched.

That’s real talent! Let’s see what he can do today.

Max Verstappen could even be free to walk away from Red Bull after Helmut Marko admitted he could be suspended in the near future.

Mail Sport’s Jonathan McEvoy revealed recently that the three-time king of the world has an astonishing break clause in his contract.

This clause allows him to quit if his ally Marko leaves.

The futures of both men have been thrown into question as the ongoing texting scandal surrounding Christian Horner continues.

Mercedes, it should be said, will have a free seat next year…

What a story this could be.

Max Verstappen has openly threatened to quit Red Bull if Helmut Marko, his mentor, is forced out in the scandal that has engulfed the sport.

Marko is facing possible disciplinary action and told Austrian broadcaster ORF there was a chance he may not be in Australia on March 24.

Mail Sport understands the latest twist relates to accusations he leaked incriminating evidence against team principal Christian Horner.

But Verstappen will not stand for Marko going.

You can read the world champion’s full quotes below.

Formula One finds itself at the centre of a raging storm in Saudi Arabia.

Quite simply, Red Bull seem to have imploded over the past fortnight.

First, Christian Horner faced an investigation over allegations of inappropriate behaviour lodged by a female employee.

The allegations were later dismissed.

The woman, who has not been named, was then suspended.

And now, it has emerged that Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, a close ally of Max Verstappen, is facing disciplinary action.

According to the BBC, the team’s plan was to suspend Marko.

But of course, our attention is also on the on-track drama and we’ll have all the updates and build-up to this evening’s blockbuster right here.