In the early hours of Monday morning, Australia’s Oscar Piastri made it two-for-two in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, crossing the line ahead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc to claim yet another win this season.
Picking up maximum points around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the 24-year-old from Melbourne now leap frogs his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Standings, becoming the first Aussie to lead the championship since Mark Webber in 2013. And in a lovely twist of fate, the 11-time race winner was there to cheer Piastri on in Saudi Arabia, as his manager.
If not for his off-track excursion in Melbourne, Piastri would have led the championship a whole lot sooner.
Putting in consistent performances race after race, Oscar Piastri has what it takes to be our next World Champion.
But the race was anything but easy for our boy. Lining up second after a chaotic qualifying session, Piastri had Max Verstappen to deal with out front. Getting a good launch off the line, Piastri caught Verstappen napping ahead of turn one. With the lead of the race in jeopardy, the four time champ had no choice but to go off the track to keep his position. But having been ahead at the apex, the corner was Piastri’s to lose.
Both drivers took to their respective radios to plead their case, with Verstappen saying that Piastri had pushed him off the track. But Piastri saw it differently, saying that Verstappen was never going to make the move stick.
Having left the track and gained a lasting advantage, Verstappen was hit with a five second time penalty for the cheeky maneuver.
But that wouldn’t be the only chaotic thing to happen on the opening lap, with an incident between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly bringing out the safety car. Two abreast heading into turn 4, the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda clipped the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, causing both cars to spin out and hit the wall. While Tsunoda made it back to the pits before retiring, Gasly was out on the spot, cutting both their race’s short.
As the race got back underway Piastri found it hard to follow in the turbulent wake of Verstappen’s car. Slipping out of DRS range with each passing lap, all Piastri could do was wait until the first and only pit cycle to make his move. But with Verstappen’s 5-second penalty, Piastri had the win in the bag.
Pitting on lap 19 for hard tires, Piastri raced on until the end, putting a respectable gap between himself and Max Verstappen.
The 27-year-old Red Bull driver stayed out a little longer than Piastri, pushing for an extra couple of laps to create a cushion. Having served his penalty in the pits, Verstappen was free to chase after the McLaren.
Lapped traffic made life a little more difficult than it needed to be for Piastri, chipping away at his lead over the furious Max Verstappen. But he kept a characteristically cool head despite the mounting pressure, coming home to take an important victory.
Piastri was exhausted after the 50 lap ordeal, saying that it was “pretty tough” to David Coulthard in his post-race interview. He went on to say that he was very happy to have won the race, with his lightning quick reaction time assuring him the victory.
Touching on his run in with Verstappen, Piastri said that once he got in front, he “wasn’t coming out of turn one in second.”
Having a “mega” start off the line, Piastri knew he “had to be firm” with Max Verstappen into turn 1, giving the Red Bull driver a taste of his own medicine.
While he is happy to be leading the championship, Piastri said, in an interview with Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok, that he is “more proud of the reasons why,” crediting first place with his great start to the season.
Max Verstappen was anything but pleased with the result, cutting his chat with David Coulthard short to avoid talking about his costly penalty. Verstappen would go on to say in another interview that any word on the penalty would be a “waste of time,” with drivers not allowed to speak their mind, he says. Leading the championship after five races, Piastri wants to lead it after the next 19 too.
Struggling early on in the weekend, Verstappen said his race pace surprised him in his interview with Liberty Media. With balance and cornering issues plaguing all three of his practice sessions, Verstappen pulled off yet another impressive qualifying performance, beating Oscar Piastri by two hundredths of a second to claim his 41st pole position.
Rounding out the top three was Charles Leclerc, who picked up his and Ferrari’s first Grand Prix podium of the season. Qualifying 4th behind George Russell, Leclerc gave it all he could, outdriving his ailing SF-25. Starting the race on hard tires, Leclerc spent thirty laps on the slowest tire, trying his best to gain a single place. With a mix of luck, skill, and sheer force of will, Leclerc beat Lando Norris to the final spot on the podium, crossing the line 1.2 seconds ahead of the McLaren driver. In his post-race interview with David Coulthard, an exhausted Leclerc said he was very happy to come home in third, saying that he was also proud of the team. His race result came as quite a shock, saying that he never expected to finish in third.
Qualifying 10th after his session ending crash in Q3, Lando Norris climbed up to fourth during the race, finishing 1.2 second behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Like Leclerc, Norris strapped on a set of hard tyres for the start of the race. Going for an extra long opening stint, Norris hoped to salvage a podium. But that is a whole lot easier said than done. Norris gained two places on the opening lap after Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly crashed out in front of him. Doing well to avoid the carnage, Norris ran into a little trouble further down the road. It took Norris 3 laps to pass Lewis Hamilton in the faster car, with the McLaren driver falling for the same move twice out of the final corner. Letting Norris through right before the DRS checkpoint, Hamilton got a little extra speed down the start/finish straight, keeping him behind for two whole laps. Coming within touching distance of Leclerc at race’s end, the cat and mouse games would prove quite costly. Staying out as long as he could on his hard tires, Norris pitted for mediums on lap 35. Setting off after Leclerc on marginally fresher tyres, Norris drove like a man possessed, picking up the fastest lap of the race in the process. But it wasn’t enough, finishing right behind the Ferrari. In his post-race interview with Liberty Media, Norris said fourth was the best he could have achieved. Despite what the qualifying and race results may have us believe, Norris says McLaren are not “head and shoulders” above the rest.
Managing only 7th while his teammate finished on the podium, it was another disappointing weekend in Saudi Arabia for Lewis Hamilton. To add insult to injury, the 7-time champion finished behind Kimi Antonelli, his rookie replacement at Mercedes. Qualifying in 7th, Hamilton finished where he started, driving around in no man’s land. A downbeat Hamilton said he didn’t feel comfortable for one second in his post-race interview. With the car clearly capable of a podium finish, Hamilton has no idea why he isn’t performing as well as Leclerc. Nothing he has done over the past five races seems to be working, with the 105 time race winner saying that he lacks grip and balance. But one Sky Sports presenter doesn’t buy into Hamilton’s story, saying that he “struggles to buy into” the Ferrari driver not understanding his car. “I just think Lewis hasn’t gelled with the car,” said the former F1 driver-turned race commentator Martin Brundle. Brundle went on to say that Hamilton isn’t going the right way with the setup of his SF-25, saying that he “likes the car a certain way” and can’t get it there.
After a grueling triple header, the F1 circus is taking a little break before it heads off to Miami, giving the drivers and their respective teams a well needed rest.
If you’re reading this, which I hope you are, stay tuned for a piece on Lewis Hamilton and an article on Ayrton Senna in the near future.
