Oscar Piastri won his second Formula 1 race of the season in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Oscar Piastri has his first lead in the Formula 1 world championship.
Piastri took advantage of Max Verstappen’s five-second time penalty at the first corner of the race to take the lead during the race’s only green-flag pit stop cycle and win Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The victory moves Piastri ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris for the top spot in the points standings as both drivers are ahead of Verstappen in third.
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Verstappen won pole on Saturday ahead of Piastri as Norris crashed in the final round of qualifying and had to start 10th. Piastri got a better start and was even with Verstappen going into the first corner. Verstappen was on the outside and drove off the track before accelerating away ahead of a crash between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly that brought out a safety car.
Stewards determined that Verstappen had gone off the track and gained an advantage, so he was penalized five seconds at his pit stop. Piastri pitted before Verstappen did, and was able to eventually take a lead of just under four seconds over Verstappen after Verstappen made his pit stop.
Verstappen finished second as Norris was fourth behind Charles Leclerc as Ferrari earned its first podium of the season. Mercedes’ George Russell finished fifth despite a late tire wear issue that forced him to slow considerably in the waning laps.
Will it be a McLaren fight for the title?
Piastri now leads Norris by nine points and Verstappen by 12 points in the standings after the Saudi Arabia race. And Piastri has three wins to Norris’ two through the first six races of the season. The only race McLaren hasn’t won so far came in Japan, when Verstappen won a procession from the pole.
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Assuming McLaren will continue to have the fastest cars throughout 2025 — and there’s no current reason to think they won’t — the success of both drivers may raise a conundrum for the team. Will McLaren let the drivers race each other straight up or will the team favor one over the other?
The team didn’t exactly favor Norris very smoothly a season ago. As Norris was mounting a title challenge to Verstappen and had passed Piastri via pit strategy in the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren forced Norris to move over for Piastri to get the win.
It was the team’s first 1-2 finish since 2021. And it cost Norris in the driver’s standings. Norris lost seven points by moving over.
Yes, Verstappen clinched his fourth consecutive world title with multiple races to go. The seven points ultimately didn’t matter. But Red Bull looked vulnerable over the summer and fall after a dominant start. Norris was the only driver who was pushing Verstappen in the standings.
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Even though he’s 12 points back, Verstappen should still be considered the driver to beat until someone else wins the driver’s title. But both Piastri and Norris have the best chance to beat Verstappen since Lewis Hamilton did in 2021. It’s up to the team to not screw it up for either of them.
Race results
1. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
7. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
8. Carlos Sainz, Williams
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Isack Hadjar, RB
11. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
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12. Liam Lawson, RB
13. Ollie Bearman, Haas
14. Esteban Ocon, Haas
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
16. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
17. Jack Doohan, Alpine
18. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Not Classified; Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
