F1: Oscar Piastri wins Saudi Arabia GP, overtakes Lando Norris in championship standings
Australian wins third race from five so far this year, with four-time champion Max Verstappen in second place in Jeddah
Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday and seized the Formula One championship lead from McLaren teammate Lando Norris with his third win in five races.
Red Bull’s four-times champion Max Verstappen was runner-up, 2.843 seconds behind the Australian, after starting from pole at Jeddah’s Corniche circuit, with Charles Leclerc taking Ferrari’s first podium of 2025 in third. Norris finished fourth, after racing back from 10th.
Verstappen’s plan unravelled within seconds of the start when he and Piastri went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner, with the champion running wide to stay ahead and collecting a five-second penalty that he served in the pits.
“It was a pretty tough race,” Piastri said after 50 laps in 30 degree heat. “I’m very, very happy to have won.
“Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn One, and that was enough. Definitely one of the toughest races I’ve had in my career.”
Victory made Piastri, triumphant in Bahrain last weekend and China last month, the first Australian to lead the championship since his manager Mark Webber in 2010 and also the first back-to-back winner this season.