Photo Credit: Getty Images
Oscar Piastri secured his third win of the 2025 Formula One season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the first Australian to lead the drivers' championship since Mark Webber in 2010. The McLaren driver moved ahead of team-mate Lando Norris in the standings and now holds a ten-point advantage after a commanding performance at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Piastri's path to victory was helped by a five-second penalty given to polesitter Max Verstappen, who left the track at Turn 1 to stay ahead of the McLaren. "He needs to give that back. I was ahead," Piastri said on the team radio. The stewards agreed, handing Verstappen the penalty.
Chaos unfolded early as Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly collided at Turn 4, triggering a Safety Car and shaking up the field. Norris, who started tenth after a crash in qualifying, made a strong recovery through the field. He climbed from seventh by overtaking Carlos Sainz and engaged in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Lewis Hamilton. After being repassed twice, Norris finally held position on Lap 15. "Play the game," his engineer instructed, guiding him through the strategy to overtake Hamilton for good.
Piastri stopped on Lap 19 while trailing Verstappen. The Red Bull driver came in two laps later to serve his penalty and rejoined three seconds behind. During his out lap, Piastri made a key move on Hamilton and once in clear air, began to extend his lead. Despite traffic and confusion caused by a flashing red light above the circuit—"Man, he needs to get out of the way," he said—Piastri stayed focused and crossed the finish line over two seconds ahead of Verstappen.
Charles Leclerc finished third, giving Ferrari their first podium of the season. He overtook George Russell on Lap 38. "Well done, Charles," came the radio message. "Thank you, Bryan," Leclerc replied.
Piastri's back-to-back victories, following his Bahrain win, now put him in the lead of the championship. Norris trails by ten points, while Verstappen sits two points further back. McLaren continues to lead the constructors' standings in a strong start to the 2025 season.
