2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; Piastri Gets Championship Lead & Third Win of the Year

McLaren's Oscar Piastri has won the Saudi Arabian GP after polesitter Max Verstappen was penalized for going off the track and getting an advantage on the opening lap. It's the third win of the year for Piastri, and he has overtaken his teammate Lando Norris to get the lead in the 2025 F1 championship. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured the third position by overtaking Norris and claimed his first podium appearance this season.

Piastri Gets 2025 F1 Championship Lead

Piastri delivered an exceptional performance, starting from second on the grid. He maintained level with Verstappen on the run towards Turn 1 before the Red Bull driver cut across the apex to hold on to the lead. When Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly's crash brought out the safety car, Verstappen was unable to give the position back to Piastri and was handed a five-second penalty.

Piastri clarified that he struggled with Verstappen during the first stint on the medium tires and took the lead after Verstappen was penalized with a five-second penalty. By finishing the race 2.843 seconds before Verstappen, the Australian F1 driver made his third win of the year.

On the other hand, Verstappen seemed impressed with Red Bull's race form, even after struggling in Friday's practice. The Red Bull driver didn't want to get carried away with the result and, therefore, pointed out that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit didn't have a lot of tire degradation. Talking about Leclerc, he opted for a longer opening stint on medium tires before replacing them with hard ones on Lap 30. He overtook Noris in the closing laps to finish the race in third position.

After being overtaken by Leclerc, Norris claimed the fourth position, followed by the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Lewis Hamilton from the Ferrari team secured seventh place, while both Williams drivers claimed eighth and ninth positions, respectively.