Oscar Piastri took advantage of Max Verstappen being assessed a 5-second penalty for going off the track on the opening turn, and won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Sunday.
Verstappen went off the road while competing with Piastri, who was judged to have had the corner.
Full footage of the incident between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen after the start at turn 1!
— Extreme Cars (@extremecars__) April 20, 2025
Do you think Max Verstappen's 5-second penalty was justified?#F1 #Formula1 #SaudiArabianGPpic.twitter.com/zEftS9xcaY
Verstappen finished second in the race, while Charles Leclerc finished third to give Ferrari its first podium of the season. Verstappen was annoyed over the penalty and tried to avoid the subject after the race.
“It’s better we don’t talk about it, because we are anyway not allowed to express our opinion on that,” Verstappen said.
Meanwhile Lando Norris, who crashed out of Q3, started 10th on the grid and battled his way back to finish fourth.
With the first of three consecutive races now completed, Piastri now leapfrogs Norris in the drivers’ championship. Verstappen only trails Norris by two points.
Three races remain before a new set of DRS designs and wing deflections go into effect at the Spanish Grand Prix.
So far, despite the occasional struggle, Red Bull been able to keep McLaren’s point lead manageable with the hope that they will be able to develop and gain enough pace after these changes to challenge for driver’s championship.
Next up in the schedule is the Miami Grand Prix, where Norris claimed his first P1 podium last year.
