Oscar Piastri Secures Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Victory

Oscar Piastri has taken the lead in the Formula 1 world championship for the first time after winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen`s chances of winning were hampered by a five-second penalty.

Verstappen and Piastri, starting on the front row, went side-by-side into the first corner of the Jeddah street circuit. However, stewards penalized the Red Bull driver with a time penalty. They judged that he had unfairly cut the chicane to stay ahead of Piastri, who had a faster start.

Piastri maintained a comfortable gap within five seconds of Verstappen throughout the initial stint of the race. When Verstappen served his penalty during the pit stops, Piastri moved into the lead.

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Piastri maintained his lead over Verstappen for the remainder of the race. The Australian driver achieved an impressive victory with a three-second lead, marking his second win in two weeks and his third of the season in five races. This win puts him at the top of the Drivers` Championship standings, ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri is now 10 points ahead of Norris, with Verstappen trailing by a further two points as they head to Miami in two weeks.

Norris, who started tenth due to a qualifying crash, recovered to finish fourth using an alternative tire strategy. He narrowly missed overtaking Charles Leclerc for third place in the final laps.

Leclerc, starting from fourth, also had a strong race. After a long first stint, he overtook George Russell of Mercedes on fresher tires to secure Ferrari`s first podium finish of the season.

Leclerc and Norris`s late overtakes pushed Russell down to fifth, followed by his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in sixth.

Lewis Hamilton finished in seventh, his starting position, after struggling with grip throughout the weekend. Despite this, the seven-time champion managed to hold off Norris for several laps during the initial stint when the McLaren driver was catching up.

Williams achieved a good result with both cars in the top 10. Carlos Sainz finished eighth, ahead of his teammate Alex Albon in ninth.

Sainz and Albon finished just ahead of Isack Hadjar. Sainz strategically dropped back to give DRS to Albon, helping him defend against the Racing Bulls car.

The Safety Car made its customary appearance at the Jeddah circuit, which has happened in every race since 2021. This time, it was due to a first-lap collision between Red Bull`s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine`s Pierre Gasly, resulting in both drivers retiring.

Verstappen vs Piastri – Penalty Explained

With Norris starting further back due to his qualifying crash, the race was anticipated to be a direct battle between Verstappen and Piastri. The winner would potentially take the championship lead for the first time this season.

Verstappen, usually strong off the line, faced immediate pressure from Piastri at the start. Piastri, starting second, had a slightly better launch and held the inside line for the first chicane.

As they approached the braking zone, Piastri maintained his line, but Verstappen on the outside went wide over the run-off area at the apex. He rejoined still in the lead, which prompted the stewards` investigation.

“He needs to give that back. I was ahead,” Piastri quickly communicated over team radio.

After managing the Safety Car period caused by the Tsunoda-Gasly incident, the stewards investigated the start incident. On lap four, they issued Verstappen a five-second penalty, to be served at his first pit stop.

“Well, that is **** lovely,” Verstappen reacted sarcastically on team radio upon hearing about the penalty.

Given McLaren`s expected race pace advantage, it seemed unlikely Verstappen could build a sufficient gap to negate the penalty before his pit stop, despite holding track position.

He did manage to extend his lead to three seconds over Piastri. However, McLaren brought Piastri in for fresh tires on lap 18. When Verstappen served his penalty and made his pit stop two laps later, he emerged behind Piastri.

After Leclerc and Norris made their pit stops from their leading positions, Piastri effectively managed his lead over Verstappen to the finish line.

“Once I got on the inside, I wasn`t coming out of Turn One in second,” Piastri said after the race. “I tried my best. Obviously, the stewards had to get involved, but I thought I was far enough ahead.”

“And in the end, that`s what secured the race for me. I`m very pleased with our start performance, it made the difference.”

Verstappen, in his post-race comments, simply stated: “I`ll keep it brief. Thank you to the fans in Jeddah. It`s been a fantastic weekend. I enjoy this track.”

“The rest is what it is. I`m looking forward to Miami, see you there…”

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