Piastri takes WDC lead after statement win in Jeddah

Oscar Piastri has taken the lead of the Drivers’ Championship in style under the Jeddah lights, fending off a penalised Max Verstappen after a controversial first-corner battle to become the first Aussie atop the standings since 2010.

It was a flying start from the man in second, with Piastri, despite starting on the dirty side of the track, getting the better jump when the five lights went out in Jeddah.

Charging into the first corner, the McLaren driver had worked his front wheels ahead of Max Verstappen as they arrived at the first apex, however, the unrelenting Dutchman pushed his way by on the run-off area to keep the lead.

The moment was investigated by the stewards and Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for failing to concede the lead, however, the stewards soon had their hands full just five corners into the race.

Running side-by-side on the short run to Turn 4, two cars into one corner was never going to work for Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly who were both unwilling to give the position up.

As a result, the former teammates banged wheels, sending both drivers spinning into the harsh concrete barriers and prompting a Lap 1 Safety Car to clear the stricken Alpine.

Tsunoda crawled back to the pitlane, however, a brief assessment of the damage to his RB21’s rear wing left him as the second casualty of the first lap incident when he was forced to retire.

The race got back underway after three laps behind the SC, with Verstappen leading the pack as he launched from the final corner, instantly breaking free from Piastri’s DRs range, but only momentarily as the McLaren driver alternated between DRS assistance and raw pace to catch the Red Bull.

As Piastri set the fastest lap of the race, the battle for fourth place was heating up between Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli, with the young rookie taking the fight to the Ferrari driver with the aid of DRS assistance.

Behind, the midfield and back markers were largely separated into two DRS trains, with Isack Hadjar leading the first haul of drivers from the border of the points, and Lance Stroll setting the pace for the hard tyre runners further behind.

As the laps ticked by, Verstappen managed to build a safety net of over five seconds to George Russell in third, a welcomed relief as the pit window for the medium tyre runners opened.

The first of the top three to relinquish his yellow-marked tyres, the #81 McLaren darted into the pitlane on Lap 19, spending 3.4 seconds stationary before rejoining the race in P6.

The Australian instantly switched into attacking mode, needing to quickly dispose of the Ferrari driver ahead to maximise his fresh tyres—and that he did, passing Lewis Hamilton in a bold move through Turn 22, forced to take the dirty line around the #44. 

Two laps later, Verstappen followed suit as he served his penalty in the pitlane, rejoining behind the Piastri-Hamilton battle with his emotions bubbling to the surface.

Driving angry, Hamilton was a sitting duck as Verstappen charged around the outside of the Ferrari at the final turn, releasing him to chase down the Australian who was four seconds down the road.

It was a clear-cut stride up to the #81’s rear wing, however, with the Dutchman instead losing touch as Piastri closed the gap to the car ahead—no other than his teammate, Lando Norris.

Starting from P10, Norris had a huge task ahead of him under the floodlights in Saudi Arabia, with his sights originally set on a podium finish.

The #4 instantly got to work following the SC restart, picking off Carlos Sainz with ease before being held up by Hamilton for far longer than he would have liked.

Lap after lap, the pair traded positions on the main straight, with it ultimately taking three laps for the hard tyre starter to pass Hamilton—a loss that potentially cost him a shot at taking third place when the chequered flag fell in Jeddah.

Picking off Antonelli, Norris held position as he extended his opening stint before inheriting the race lead on Lap 30.

When the #4 McLaren pitted on Lap 35, the lead was handed over to Piastri who comfortably remained 4.5 seconds clear of Verstappen.

Behind, the battle for the final podium position was heating up.

Armed with far fresher medium compound tyres, Norris made light work of Russell, passing the Mercedes driver into Turn 1 to move into fourth place.

His next target, the #16 Ferrari, circulated the Jeddah Corniche Circuit three seconds up the road so with five laps remaining, Norris got to work.

He halved the margin to Leclerc across the next two laps, taking a second out of the Ferrari across a single 6.1km lap, however, as the final lap approached, DRS was an elusive dream.

As a result, Charles Leclerc managed to hold onto the bronze medal, claiming a maximised P3 finish in Jeddah and Ferrari’s first Grand Prix podium of 2025. 

Also holding onto his position despite the looming threat across the final five laps was Piastri in the race lead, with his stress shining through when he grew agitated with the unmoving back markers.

Despite the initial frustration, lapping the cars consumed both his and Verstappen’s final few laps, disallowing the Red Bull driver to close the then-three-second interval for victory.

Crossing the line, Verstappen only managed to carve five-tenths out of Piastri’s lead, ending Red Bull’s winning streak in Saudi Arabia as Piastri also ended the 15-year wait for an Australian driver to be leading the World Drivers’ Championship—ironically with his manager, Mark Webber being the last Australian to do so in 2010.

Taking to the top step of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix podium means Piastri now has a 10-point buffer over his teammate in the WDC standings after a successful triple header through Japan, Bahrain and Jeddah, well and truly earning the right to a weekend reset away from the race track.

As for Piastri’s compatriot, a strategy gamble in the early stages of Jack Doohan’s race didn’t quite pay off as the 50-lap race came to a close.

The Australian started from a difficult P17, making the decision to pit for hard tyres during the Safety Car, however, he wasn’t able to maximise the fresh rubber, finding himself caught up in an unmoving DRS train at the backend of the field.

Following the rest of the grid’s mid-race pitstops, Doohan was quickly eaten up by the likes of Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman—all running on fresher tyres as they quickly disposed of the #7.

As a result, the sole-remaining Alpine driver made an unproductive second stop, pitting on Lap 32 and rejoining in last place, with his nearest rival 20 seconds down the road. 

One of four drivers lapped by the race leader, Doohan only managed to recover one position by the time the chequered flag arrived, finishing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in P17, just 0.042s ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto.

Liam Lawson had a strong showing in Jeddah, despite a harsh penalty threatening to ruin his evening. 

Starting from his highest qualifying position of the season, Lawson launched from both the starting grid and SC restart in P12, with his teammate getting the jump on him between the two crucial points of the race. 

He struggled to make up ground on Alonso as he ran in the midst of a stagnant DRS train, however, on Lap 15, he finally got the move done into Turn 1.

Running on the border of the points, the Kiwi made his first and only pitstop on Lap 20, rejoining the pack on the hard compound tyre in P15.

The RB driver worked his way up to the rear of Jack Doohan, running four-tenths behind the Alpine driver before engaging in battle.

With the aid of DRS, the Kiwi got the jump on Doohan into the first turn, however, carrying too much speed into the braking zone, he crossed into the run-off area at Turn 1, gaining the stewards’ attention.

The moment was put under investigation and ultimately resulted in Lawson receiving a huge ten-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, however, it didn’t stop his on-track charge.

Replicating the overtake but remaining within the white lines, Lawson picked off Esteban Ocon into Turn 1 before taking on Nico Hulkenberg who soon made the #30’s life easier as he dipped into the pitlane for a late stop. 

Lawson took the chequered flag in eleventh before his ten-second penalty dropping him just one position to P12, equalling his highest finishing result of the season.

Ahead, Williams was the definite ‘best of the rest’ outfit in Saudi Arabia, claiming a well-deserved double points finish after Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon put on the perfect display of teamwork to defend from an unrelenting Isack Hadjar, with all three drivers rounding out the top ten and earning points in the process.

When the sport picks back up, the 20 drivers will be competing at the always vibrant Miami International Autodrome—the circuit Lando Norris claimed his maiden victory in 2024.

The Miami Grand Prix will run across the first weekend of May, taking shape as the second Sprint Weekend of the season. 

Image: Formula 1

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Results:

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