Under the lights of Jeddah, Oscar Piastri performed very well, winning his third race of the season and taking for the first time in his career the lead of the championship. The Aussie driver drove a perfect race, the latter was full of drama, strategy, and anxiety.
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Chaos at the start
Max Verstappen, on the other side, jumped off the starting line, came quickly into Turn 1, before squeezing Piastri. The McLaren driver, refused to give up and Verstappen cut the corner to maintain his lead, the the two competitors then went wheel-to-wheel. The four-time world champion received a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage off the track a few laps later.
Chaos erupted further back, Gasly crashed into Turn 1 after a collision with Tsunoda, who then jumped into the pits before retiring. The cards were reshuffled when the Safety Car came out.
When it started again, Piastri stayed in Verstappen’s DRS zone. In the meantime, Norris was on fire beginning P10 and moving up through the grid to P7. Sainz, Hamilton, and Antonelli were his first victims. Both McLarens had established themselves by the time the first round of pit stops started.
Piastri pitted first to try the undercut on Max Verstappen. Even a 3.4 seconds pitstop did the job. Verstappen, delayed by his penalty and after losing some time being stuck behind Hamilton, rejoined Piastri once he stopped.
Leclerc and Norris extended their stints, and when they finally decided to stop, Piastri was leading the race, Verstappen behind him, while Leclerc and Norris were fighting for the final step of the podium.
A drive worthy of a champion
From there, Piastri just needed to hold tight and that’s what he did. He created a gap, managed his tyres, and kept cool until the checkered flag was waved. Behind, Leclerc hold on and kept Norris behind, after a brilliant recovery drive he had to settle for fourth.
After a strategic, patient and decisive drive, Piastri became the first driver to win a race from anywhere but pole position this season.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was full of storylines, from Verstappen’s penalty, to Norris’ comeback, to Piastri’s lead in the drivers standings. The championship is now heating up, and McLaren and Oscar Piastri are right in the center of action.
Final Standings:
