Oscar Piastri delivered a career-defining performance at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, mastering strategy, tyre wear, and relentless pressure to claim victory ahead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren driver now leads the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his career after a fiercely contested 50-lap race under the lights of Jeddah.
Tension and Chaos from Turn 1
The action was instant as Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen went wheel to wheel into Turn 1. Piastri had the inside line, but Verstappen ran wide and gained the lead by leaving the track.
“He needs to give that back; I was ahead,” Piastri radioed.
“He was never going to make that corner whether I was there or not.”
The stewards noted the incident, and Verstappen was later handed a 5-second time penalty for gaining an advantage off-track.
Further drama unfolded just moments later at Turn 4, where Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly made contact. Gasly’s car hit the wall and retired on the spot, while Tsunoda suffered damage from the contact with Gasly and the wall but was able to get going again and limped back to the pits.
Despite efforts from the team, it was a double retirement from the incident, ending Tsunoda’s day early.
With the safety car deployed, several drivers — including Jack Doohan, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto — took the opportunity to pit early and switch to hard tyres.
Strategic Divergence: Hard vs Medium
The strategy began to unfold as the safety car ended on Lap 3.
Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, and Nico Hülkenberg joined Piastri in starting on the hard compound, while Liam Lawson opted for the medium tyre — signaling an alternate strategy within the Racing Bulls camp.
Hadjar made quick gains, jumping two places by Lap 6 to sit 10th, ahead of his teammate Lawson in 12th, who found himself caught in a DRS train with Alonso and Bearman.
Meanwhile, Piastri pushed to stay within striking distance of Verstappen, who led by just 1.1 seconds and was trying to build a cushion to offset his penalty.
Piastri responded with the fastest lap as he shadowed Verstappen, the pair pulling away from Russell and Leclerc.
By Lap 10, Verstappen had a 5-second buffer to Leclerc in fourth, while Piastri stayed close — just four-tenths behind.
Norris and Hamilton engaged in a thrilling on-track duel, passing each other twice in a single lap before Norris made it stick on Lap 15 and moved up to sixth. He then set his sights forward, 14 seconds adrift of Verstappen.
Lawson overtook Alonso for 11th on Lap 16, sitting 4.5 seconds behind Hadjar as the Racing Bulls found themselves in a tight midfield battle.
Verstappen extended his lead over Piastri to 2.2 seconds as pit windows approached, with Russell 7.8 seconds behind in third.
Norris continued his charge, moving into the top five with a pass on Kimi Antonelli, making the most of his long-running hard tyres.
Pit Stops: Positions Shuffle
Piastri was the first of the front-runners to pit on Lap 20, but a slightly slow stop at 3.4 seconds cost him valuable time. He rejoined in sixth between Hamilton and Sainz. Antonelli followed him into the pits.
Russell boxed the next lap, a clean 2.4-second stop bringing him back out in seventh behind Sainz and ahead of Albon.
Verstappen, now with a commanding 11-second lead over Leclerc, came in shortly after to serve his 5-second penalty and swap tyres. With a total stop time of 8.3 seconds, he rejoined in fifth — now behind Piastri.
Lawson made his pit stop on Lap 21, switching to hard tyres to go to the end. He dropped to 16th but began his recovery drive by chasing down Bortoleto.
The Midfield Battle Brews
The midfield pack continued to provide fireworks. Lawson overtook Bortoleto into Turn 1, but the Brazilian having a close call with Alonso and gained an advantage in the aftermath, forcing him to give the position back to the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, Hadjar — still on his starting hard tyres — climbed to sixth before his stop.
Lawson kept pushing, moving on Doohan and then Ocon to climb to 13th. Race control placed Lawson’s pass on Doohan under investigation.
Hülkenberg’s pit stop allowed Lawson up into 12th place.
On Lap 30, Leclerc made his stop, swapping to hard tyres and handing the lead to Norris, who still had life in his starting hards.
Piastri sat second, 3.6 seconds behind, with Verstappen in third, 4.5 seconds further back. With everyone now on hard tyres, the final stints were underway.
Hamilton made a fast 2.1-second pit stop on Lap 24.
In contrast, Norris — whose lap times remained just four-tenths off Piastri’s — eventually boxed and locked up into pit entry.
A 2.6-second stop returned him to the track on fresh mediums in fifth behind Leclerc.
Hadjar pitted soon after and returned in 10th on medium tyres, while Lawson passed Stroll for 11th with 5.9 seconds between him and Hadjar.
Leclerc passed Russell for third with 12 laps to go, while Verstappen still couldn’t make inroads on Piastri. With eight laps left, the Red Bull trailed by four seconds.
Lawson’s earlier pass on Doohan resulted in a harsh blow: a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage — the same infraction Verstappen was penalised for, resulting in only a 5-second penalty.
The penalty effectively ended his chances of a points finish, likely demoting him to 16th despite a strong drive.
Closing Laps – Holding the Line
With just two laps to go, Verstappen had only managed to shave the gap down to 3.2 seconds. Piastri expertly managed traffic and tyre wear, maintaining the lead as Leclerc defended hard from Norris, who was now just 1.3 seconds behind and pushing to get within DRS range.
Race control reviewed Norris’s pit exit for crossing the white line but quickly confirmed there would be no further investigation.
Piastri crossed the line to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and take the lead in the championship standings. Verstappen settled for second, with Leclerc fending off Norris to secure Ferrari’s first podium of the season.
Norris narrowly missed out on a podium finish from P10 on the grid. Russell finished fifth, 15 seconds behind Norris, with Antonelli, Hamilton, Sainz, Albon, and Hadjar rounding out the top 10. It was a big day for Williams, getting both cars into the points.
Top 10 Finishers
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +2.843s
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +8.104s
- Lando Norris (McLaren) +9.196s
- George Russell (Mercedes) +27.236s
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +34.688
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +39.073
- Carlos Sainz (Williams) +64.630
- Alex Albon (Williams) +66.515
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +67.091
Liam Lawson crossed the line in 11th but was relegated to 12th due to his time penalty. The team is reviewing the decision.
“I didn’t have a great start. I was in the wrong place on the first lap when everything happened,” said Lawson
“It’s a shame. The car was pretty quick. We just spent the whole race in traffic again.
“This weekend’s been the most comfortable I’ve been in the car – I just want some points.
“We’re doing all the right things, it just needs to come together.”
Despite Verstappen finishing ahead of Norris, Norris maintains second in the championship, while Verstappen holds third.
Post-race, Piastri was asked how he felt. His reply:
“Very happy to have won. It was really tricky to follow out there. I chewed up my tyres trying to keep up with Max in that first stint but took advantage of the clean air out front in the second stint of the race.
“One of the toughest races in my career — glad I could come out on top for it.”
Formula 1 will take a break next weekend before returning for the Miami Grand Prix on May 2-4.
Header Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
