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F1 news LIVE: Red Bull weigh up official appeal after Max Verstappen penalty
Follow all the reaction with Piastri taking the win ahead of Verstappen after their first-lap clash
Oscar Piastri moved ahead of Lando Norris and into the drivers’ championship lead with victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen paid the price for a first-lap penalty.
Pole-sitter Verstappen was penalised for cutting the corner at turn one to stay ahead of Piastri, allowing the McLaren man to jump in front at the pit stops and he never looked back.
Piastri made it back-to-back wins and three for the season to move 10 points ahead of team-mate Norris at the top of the standings – the first Australian to lead since Mark Webber in 2010.
Charles Leclerc claimed third for Ferrari with Mercedes’ George Russell fifth. Lewis Hamilton came home where he started, taking seventh for Ferrari.
Follow the Saudi Arabian GP with The Independent
Christian Horner shows photographic evidence of Verstappen-Piastri incident
“I thought it was very harsh.
“We didn’t concede the position, because we didn’t believe that he’d done anything wrong. You can quite clearly see at the apex of the corner, we believe that Max is clearly ahead.
“They’ve both gone in at the same speed, Oscar’s run deep into the corner, Max can’t just disappear at this point in time, so perhaps these rules need to be relooked at.
“I don’t know what happened to ‘let them race’ on the first lap, that just seemed to have been abandoned. I don’t know where he’s supposed to go, he can’t just vanish.”
Horner added that is was “highly unlikely” that they will appeal, but did not categorically rule it out.
The ‘sensational’ Oscar Piastri moment which secured F1 triumph in Saudi Arabia
It was the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix’s critical juncture. And no, it was not the controversial lap-one clash between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, officiated fairly and promptly by the stewards, who handed the Red Bull driver a five-second penalty. Of course, the punishment was a pivotal verdict. But it was not the pivotal moment.
In fact, the moment which won Oscar Piastri the race came 20 laps in.
The ‘sensational’ Oscar Piastri moment which secured F1 triumph in Saudi Arabia
Charles Leclerc after finishing P3:
“I was very happy with the race today, we maximised absolutely everything – very proud of what we’ve done. I never expected to finish here, I thought this race was about defending the cars behind.”
“Bryan [Bozzi, engineer] was very relaxed on the pit-wall, bit more intense inside the car, we have a very good relationship.”
F1 constructor standings after Saudi Arabia GP
1. McLaren - 188 points
2. Mercedes - 111 points
3. Red Bull - 89 points
4. Ferrari - 78 points
5. Williams - 25 points
6. Haas - 20 points
7. Aston Martin - 10 points
8. Racing Bulls - 8 points
9. Alpine - 6 points
10. Sauber - 6 points
George Russell on P5:
“Tonight was all about the tyres and unfortunately, ours were suffering from overheating.
“I was pushing to stay with Verstappen at the start of the second stint, but it quickly became clear that we weren't going to be able to hang on.
“I tried to manage the tyres a little more but, with the tyre age offset they had built, Leclerc and Norris were able to move ahead. After that, my tyres dropped off the cliff and it was all about just bringing the car home in P5.
“Ultimately, we didn't have the pace today. Even if we had managed more at different points, that was the maximum available to us this evening.”
F1 driver standings after Saudi Arabia GP
4. George Russell – 75 points
5. Charles Leclerc – 50 points
6. Kimi Antonelli – 40 points
8. Alex Albon – 20 points
9. Esteban Ocon – 14 points
10. Lance Stroll – 10 points
11. Pierre Gasly – 6 points
12. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points
13. Ollie Bearman – 6 points
14. Isack Hadjar – 5 points
16. Carlos Sainz – 5 points
17. Liam Lawson – 0 points
18. Jack Doohan – 0 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto – 0 points
20. Fernando Alonso – 0 points
Toto Wolff not happy with 'worst performance of the year'
“That was our worst performance of the year so far.
“The pace dropped away as our tyres overheated and that was frustrating. We came into the race hoping we could compete for the podium but, with the limitations we had with the tyres, P5 and P6 was the maximum for us.
“We need to analyse our performance, work out why that was the case, and quickly find improvements. The next race in Miami is another race on a hot track surface so we will need to be better than we were today if we want to avoid a repeat performance.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella on Saudi GP:
On Oscar’s side, he drove an excellent race, and was able to convert his front-row start into a win, thanks to some smart and calm driving. This was a well-deserved win for Oscar.
“Meanwhile, Lando was able to put a difficult Qualifying behind him and showed his resilience as he fought his way back through the field, scoring important points.”
Fred Vasseur on Hamilton's race:
“Lewis struggled more with his pace in general and was not helped by the fact that he was often in dirty air.
“We need to stay focused and work flat out and I’m sure the results will come. From tomorrow we start preparing for Miami, and we will continue to deal with this season race by race.
“Focusing on ourselves. It’s the same approach and attitude we had last year and we plan to stick with it.”
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