Oscar Piastri won his third Formula 1 race this season and becomes the new championship leader for McLaren as Max Verstappen had to settle for second place following a five-second time penalty for gaining track advantage.
Having qualified first, reigning world champion Verstappen was not as quick off the line as Piastri from second and drove his Red Bull wide into turn two, earning him a time penalty that seemingly cost him an opportunity for victory.
Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, holding off a late challenge from the recovering Lando Norris, who had started down in P10 after crashing out in qualifying. This was Leclerc’s first podium of the season for the Scuderia.
It was a great start from Piastri and he looked to pass Verstappen, who cut turn two to retain the lead just moments before the sister Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda was caught up in a crash with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine.
There had been a safety car in all four previous Formula 1 races in Jeddah and this time it was out by the end of the first lap.
Gasly retired immediately having lost the majority of the rear wing and Tsunoda’s race was also over despite making it back to the pits.
With the cars all falling into a designated pace, the radio back and forth began as Piastri called for Verstappen to hand back the lead, while Max insisted he had been run wide on purpose.
The race stewards sided with Piastri and Verstappen was duly handed a five-second time penalty just as the race got back under way.
Norris, having opted to start on the hard tyre, gaining from the Tsunoda/Gasly incident and made up two places to eighth, before passing Carlos Sainz at the start of lap seven to continue his recovery.
With Piastri keeping Verstappen within striking distance, Norris started to close on the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, passing but dropping back behind as the seven-time world champion got the benefit of DRS.
There was a repeat on the next lap, Norris again opting to pass at a time which gave Hamilton the DRS advantage into the final corner.
The next time around, Norris waited until the last corner himself before deploying DRS and passing Hamilton without fear of immediately losing the place back for a third time.
Norris was the man making moves through the pack and Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes was next up for the McLaren, who has up to fifth before the end of lap 19.
Meanwhile, Piastri was dropping back from Verstappen and pitted on lap 20, a slight delay costing the McLaren driver a second in his box as he returned on the hard compound.
Verstappen was told to push, aiming to avoid any undercut and knowing he still his penalty hanging over him as George Russell also opted to come in.
Piastri, though, would be three seconds further up the road after Vestappen’s own stop two laps later as he took net lead of the race with Leclerc and Norris having not come in for fresh tyre.
Norris was extending his stint with these hard tyres, no doubt hoping for a timely safety car to cut down the time lost in the pitlane – although he eventually discarded his original set of tyres with 15 laps to go.
The stop saw him drop back down to fifth but with much newer tyres than the quartet now ahead of him.
Piastri was now leading outright, Verstappen’s five-second penalty keeping him behind the McLaren, with Russell third and Leclerc closing him down in fourth.
The Ferrari driver squeezed through as Norris started setting the pace with the race entering the closing stages.
With Russell struggling, Norris also made his way past the Mercedes but was also placed under investigation by the stewards for crossing the white line on pit exit.
No further action was taken as Norris set about catching Leclerc to seal the last position on the podium, but he ultimately ran out of laps before he could make a proper fist of it, closing to just over a second before the flag.
Russell finished fifth despite being concerned about his tyre wear in the closing stages, with Antonelli sixth and Hamilton finishing seventh, where he had started.
Sainz was eighth and played the ultimate team game, allowing the second Williams of Alex Albon to piggyback his DRS and keep Isack Hadjar at bay, the Racing Bulls man having to settle for P10.
So an eventful race at Jeddah with the drama on the opening lap deciding this outcome of this Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen got a time penalty for going off track and felt he was pushed aside by Piastri. And yet Oscar won the opening corner and was on the racing line. By winning this race, Piastri is the new championship leader.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:21:06.758
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +2.843s
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +8.104s
4 Lando Norris McLaren +9.196s
5 George Russell Mercedes +27.236s
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +34.688s
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +39.073s
8 Carlos Sainz Williams +64.630s
9 Alexander Albon Williams +66.515s
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +67.091s
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +75.917s
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +78.451s
13 Oliver Bearman Haas +79.194s
14 Esteban Ocon Haas +99.723s
15 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +1 lap
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1 lap
17 Jack Doohan Alpine +1 lap
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +1 lap
Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull DNF
Pierre Gasly Alpine DNF
Oscar Piastri has picked up his third win of the season with an assured drive to victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Australian becoming the new Drivers’ Championship leader in the process.
There was early drama as the race got underway at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with polesitter Max 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 team mate 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.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-clinches-victory-in-saudi-arabia-from-verstappen-and-leclerc-as.1XBezBwUfLfjOayPSKNs41
Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has seen a safety car intervention after just one lap due to a collision between Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, while polesitter Max Verstappen was penalised.
Starting in eighth and ninth respectively, Tsunoda and Gasly tangled at Turn 4 as Gasly attempted to pass the Red Bull driver around the outside.
Tsunoda’s front-right corner made contact with Gasly’s left rear in what appeared to be a classic first-lap racing incident. The touch punted the Frenchman’s Alpine into the barriers, ending his race on the spot and bringing out the safety car.
Tsunoda limped back to the pits but he too had to abandon the race due to excessive damage to his car’s right-hand side.
Up front Verstappen defended his lead against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri into Turn 1 but only by going off track, with Piastri feeling the Dutchman should have given back the position.
Despite Verstappen and Red Bull feeling they were in the right, the stewards decided to handle Verstappen a five-second penalty, with the world champion responding “that is f***ing lovely” on the team radio.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/max-verstappen-penalised-as-pierre-gasly-and-yuki-tsunoda-crash-in-jeddah/10715418/
As the lights went out at Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri hooked up faster from second on the grid than polesitter Max Verstappen, and the McLaren and Red Bull headed into Turn 1 side by side.
Piastri had the inside line even though his car wasn’t significantly ahead, but Verstappen released the brakes and unloaded the steering to let his car run over the kerb and through the Turn 1 run-off area, returning to the track in the lead.
“He needs to give that back – I was ahead,” Piastri said over the team radio.
In circumstances such as this, it is up to the team to order the driver to hand a position back, or for them to do it of their own volition. Behind the leading duo, Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli also went over the run-off and resumed ahead of Charles Leclerc, but immediately moved over to let the Ferrari past.
If the driver does not hand the position back, they risk a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
This policy was confirmed by former F1 race director Niels Wittich, co-commentating on Sky Germany this weekend.
“We’ve discussed this topic at length over the years, with all the teams and drivers,” he said after the Verstappen incident. “I think everyone still remembers the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale, where things were a bit controversial with Lewis back then.
“It has always been clear: if you leave the track and gain an advantage – which [Verstappen] did, because he kept the position – then that position must be given back. The decision ultimately lies with the team; it’s their call to tell the driver to drop back.
“He’s on the outside and would need to be at least alongside or ahead to justify the move. But he wasn’t. And let’s be honest: if there had been a gravel trap there, he wouldn’t be in the position he is now.
“So it’s better to give up that one position than to risk a five-second time penalty.”
The incident was noted by race control and elevated to the stewards, who duly applied a five-second penalty when Verstappen failed to hand the lead over to Piastri. The Australian eventually won the race.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-max-verstappen-was-penalised-for-turn-1-move-on-oscar-piastri/10715437/
Lando Norris admits he is making hard work of his F1 title challenge.
After starting the season as the favourite to win the championship, and his victory in the Australian GP, Norris has slipped behind his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the pecking order.
Piastri has now taken two back-to-back wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to move to the top of the table and got 10 points clear of Norris.
Norris finished fourth in the Saudi Arabian GP after crashing out during qualifying to start in 10th place on the grid. The error meant he was always unable to fight Piastri for the win, and he says he needs to start cutting out the mistakes.
The Briton commented: “It’s the best we could have done today. Of course, a shame to miss out on a podium.
“I make life tough for myself, especially when it’s a race like that, it would have been a much easier, a lot more chilled just to drive out the front.
“I got to help myself out a little bit and have better Saturdays.”
Norris has also hit back at suggestions that his McLaren holds a superior pace advantage over the rest of the field, claiming that Max Verstappen’s Red Bull is just as fast in race trim.
He added: “Red Bull are just as quick in qualifying. They’re just as quick as us in the race.
“Just because we’re quick in practice, people just keep coming up with all this this crap.
“We don’t believe we’re much ahead as it shows. I think probably Max was the quickest out there today, so we have work to do.
“People keep saying that we’re the best, we’re the quickest, blah blah blah, but it’s just because we show a bit more pace in practice.
“We don’t have anything left when he gets to qualifying, but that’s our way of doing things. That’s how we feel we optimise things. If we didn’t do it that way, we’ll be even further back.
“I’m happy with the work we’re doing, people just need to recalibrate that. We have a great car and I’m probably the quickest on average but clearly not enough.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-life-tough-myself/10715502/
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.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-believes-blistering-start-won-us-the-race-as-mclaren-man-overcomes.3bA2zLc6uzK7sD0lBcJmDg