Oscar Piastri was the major beneficiary of a stewards’ handing out a penalty against Max Verstappen as the McLaren driver stormed to victory at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Australian driver started the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in P2 and knew he would have to get past Verstappen, the pole sitter, if he was to win his third race of the season. An excellent launch meant that he had the inside line heading into Turn 1.
Verstappen refused to yield around the outside and he ended up going across the run-off area and emerged from Turn 2 with a comfortable lead of the race. Verstappen opted not to give the position back to Piastri straight away and waited for the stewards’ ruling, which was a five-second time penalty.
Piastri got his elbows out
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 immediately after the race, Piastri gave a rare insight into his fighting spirit as he admitted that he had no intention of emerging from the first two corners in second place given how far alongside he had got his McLaren.
“Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second. I tried my best. Obviously, the stewards had to get involved, but I thought I was plenty far enough up,” Piastri said.
“And in the end, that’s what got me the race. So, I’m very happy with all the work we’ve been doing at the starts, and that’s what won us the race today.”
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Piastri‘s victory comes after wins in China and Bahrain, and it now means that the Australian leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Lando Norris and Verstappen.
A tough race in Jeddah
Whilst he was happy with how the start of the race eventually panned out, Piastri admitted that it was not easy to follow Verstappen in the first stint and he needed some clean air later in the race.
“It was a pretty tough race. I’m very, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn 1, and that was enough,” Piastri said.
“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 pit stop.”
By the end of the grand prix, Verstappen had closed the gap to less than three seconds. That being said, Piastri did put in a purple sector on his final lap of the race, hinting that he had more speed to offer should he have needed to.
“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,” he said.
