Oscar Piastri claims his third win of the season, second in a row, and jumps to the top of the drivers’ standings.
A truly Oscar-worthy McLaren. The Australian driver clinched his third victory of the season by taking the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, capitalizing on a penalty handed to Verstappen during the pit stop phase. It’s Piastri’s second consecutive win and the fifth of his career, putting him at the top of the championship standings with 99 points — ten ahead of teammate Norris and twelve clear of Verstappen.
Here’s what the young McLaren driver had to say after the race in Jeddah: “It was a really tough race and I’m obviously very happy to have won. The start made the difference — I went for it into Turn 1. After that, it was really hard to follow; I couldn’t stick with Max in the first stint because I would’ve destroyed my tyres. Then, with clean air after the stop, it was great. We made the right calls during the race, but we still need to improve because Max is close. Still, it was a great weekend.”
Piastri also added: “Once I had the inside line, I was content to settle for second — I think I was ahead at that point. In the end, that decided the outcome of the race. I’m really happy with the work we’ve done on starts; today we reaped the rewards.”
Photo: X McLaren F1 Team