Oscar Piastri surged to the top of the Formula One championship on Sunday, clinching his third win of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen was penalized for an aggressive opening-lap move.
The McLaren driver kept his cool in a tense 50-lap showdown, capitalizing on a five-second penalty handed to Verstappen, who had stormed to pole and appeared poised for back-to-back wins. But a cut-corner lunge in a first-turn battle with Piastri was deemed too much by stewards – a call that proved decisive.
“This was won at Turn 1,” Piastri said. “I made my move, stood my ground. That’s what sealed it.”
The Australian now leads the standings by 10 points – the first Aussie since Mark Webber in 2010 to sit atop the table – following back-to-back wins and three victories in the last four races.
Verstappen, who had climbed to pole in a surprise late push during qualifying, crossed the line second after serving his penalty during his pit stop. But he lost further time battling traffic, including a brief DRS-fueled scrap with Lewis Hamilton.
“Once I got the inside line, I wasn’t giving up P2,” Verstappen said over the radio. But in public, the reigning champion chose restraint. “Thanks to the fans in Jeddah. I love this track. The rest... it is what it is.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium in third, while Lando Norris executed a mighty recovery from P10 to P4 in the other McLaren – a bounce back from his crash in qualifying. Norris made early gains after a Lap 1 collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly triggered a safety car, eventually fighting past Hamilton in a dogged DRS duel.
Piastri’s race turned on strategy and execution. He boxed on Lap 19, then swiftly dispatched Hamilton. Verstappen stopped later, served his penalty, and emerged three seconds adrift – but lost rhythm stuck behind Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Meanwhile, Norris stretched his first stint as McLaren gambled on a second safety car. It never came. Piastri, sensing his teammate’s long run was hampering his airflow, radioed in. Norris finally pitted, but fourth was all he could salvage.
Behind the top four, Mercedes’ George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli took fifth and sixth. Hamilton settled for seventh. Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon followed, while Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar scored his maiden point in 10th.
