Piastri believes blistering start ‘won us the race’

Oscar Piastri believes his blistering start in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is “what won us the race” as Max Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

The McLaren driver started second for the 50-lap race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but was able to draw level with polesitter Verstappen on the run towards Turn 1.

With the inside line of the left-hand bend, Piastri remained on the circuit as Verstappen cut the second corner to move back in front prior to an opening lap Safety Car, which meant there was never an opportunity to cede the position.

It meant the reigning World Champion was slapped with a five-second penalty, which once served during his sole pit stop, dropped him behind Piastri as he went on to finish second to the Australian by 2.8s.

Speaking after his third Grand Prix win of the season, which has propelled him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship, Piastri said that he was intent on taking the lead at the start.

“Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second,” said Piastri.

“I tried my best, obviously the stewards had to get involved but I thought I was plenty far enough up and in the end that’s what got me the race. So yeah, very happy with all the work we’ve been doing with the starts and that’s what won us the race today.”

Despite having strong pace during the second stint on the hard tyre, Piastri began to gradually drop back from Verstappen in the opening stint on the medium rubber as dirty air through the high-speed turns began to take its toll on his tyres.

“It was really tricky to follow out there, I couldn’t really stay with Max at the end of the first stint, just chewed up my tyres and then the clean air was nice after the pitstops,” said Piastri.

“Great race, we did the parts we needed to right, still need a bit more I think, Max was a little bit too close for our liking but a great race and a great weekend.”

Despite being held in evening conditions, tyres suffered in the heat as did the drivers with Piastri relying on his drinks bottle this race having been without the device during his previous victory in Bahrain after it broke.

Along with the high-speed nature of the street circuit, Piastri claimed it one was of the hardest races in his career to date.

“That was one of our biggest upgrades this week, the drinks bottle was working," added Piastri.

“That was good, got some fluids onboard which was nice, but it’s always a tough race around here. It’s a little bit later in the year this year as well which I think is a little bit warmer, a little bit more humid and definitely one of the toughest races I’ve had in my career so glad I could come out on top in it.”

There was early drama as the race got underway at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with polesitter Verstappen and second-placed Piastri going wheel-to-wheel before Verstappen cut the apex into the first corner.

While the Dutchman initially held the lead, a five-second time penalty for the manoeuvre saw him drop behind the McLaren man after serving the punishment at his pit stop.

Lando Norris – embarking on a recovery drive from P10 after his Qualifying crash on Saturday – inherited the lead for some time as the frontrunners pitted, with the Briton having opted for a longer first stint by starting on the hard tyres. But Piastri took over P1 when his teammate stopped for medium rubber, the 24-year-old going on to eke out an advantage at the front.

From there Piastri was untroubled at the front, taking the chequered flag by 2.8s from the Red Bull of Verstappen, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sealed third to claim his maiden podium of the season.

Norris had to settle for fourth, despite trying to chase down Leclerc until the end, with the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli following in fifth and sixth respectively. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, added to Ferrari’s points tally in seventh.

Another squad taking home a double points result was Williams, Carlos Sainz claiming P8 to mark his best result so far for the Grove-based squad while teammate Alex Albon was just behind in P9, the Thai driver holding off Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar despite a close challenge to the end.

Fernando Alonso again missed out on points in P11 – the Aston Martin man yet to get off the mark in 2025 – with Liam Lawson taking P12 for Racing Bulls after being hit with a 10-second penalty for the leaving the track and gaining an advantage in and incident with Jack Doohan. The Haas pair of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon slotted into P13 and P14 respectively.

Nico Hulkenberg drove his Kick Sauber to 15th place, ahead of the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and the other Kick Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto completing the order of classified finishers.

Two drivers failed to make the chequered flag, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda suffering an early exit after colliding in a first-lap incident that triggered a Safety Car phase.

But up at the front, Piastri has taken the lead in the championship by 10 points from teammate Norris, making him the first Australian driver to head the championship standings in 15 years – the last being his manager, Mark Webber.

The next stop on the F1 calendar will be the Miami Grand Prix from May 2-4.