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.
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 team mate 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 team mate Norris, making him the first Australian driver to head the championship standings in 15 years – the last being his manager, Mark Webber.
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