Oscar Piastri claimed his third victory of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, propelling him to the top of the Formula 1 World Championship standings for the first time in his career. The Australian McLaren driver outdueled defending champion Max Verstappen in a race that featured controversy right from the start.

Piastri made a lightning-quick getaway from the grid, beating Verstappen to the first turn. The Dutchman, in an attempt to maintain his position, went off track at the chicane and rejoined still in the lead. This move immediately sparked debate, with both drivers arguing their case over team radio.

The race was briefly suspended following a collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, who crashed into the barriers after making contact while navigating Turns 4-5 side by side. During the safety car period, stewards reviewed the first-turn incident and handed Verstappen a 5-second penalty for gaining an advantage by leaving the track.

Despite Verstappen maintaining his lead after the restart, Piastri played a strategic game, keeping a calculated distance from the Red Bull driver. McLaren executed their strategy perfectly, bringing Piastri in for his pit stop on lap 19. Although a relatively slow 3.4-second stop dropped him to sixth place, Piastri made an impressive move around the outside of Turn 21 to pass Hamilton and gain clear air.

When Verstappen pitted two laps later and served his time penalty, he rejoined the race behind Hamilton and found himself 3 seconds behind Piastri. With the benefit of clean air—as rivals Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris made their scheduled pit stops—Piastri maintained his advantage to the checkered flag, finishing 2.8 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

“It was a pretty tough race,” Piastri said afterward. “I made the difference at the start—I made my case into Turn 1 and that was enough. Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second. In the end, that’s what got me the race, so I’m very happy with all the work we’ve been doing at the starts.”

The victory puts Piastri 10 points clear of teammate Norris in the championship standings, making him the first Australian to lead the title race since Mark Webber in 2010.

Verstappen, seemingly frustrated by the penalty and outcome, offered minimal comments after finishing second. “I love the track. The rest is what it is,” he said briefly. “I’m looking forward to Miami, so I’ll see you there.”

Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari’s first podium of the season in third place, holding off a charging Lando Norris in the closing laps. Leclerc, who started on medium tires and switched to the hard compound on lap 29, managed to keep the fast-finishing Norris at bay by just over a second.

“I was very, very happy with the race today,” Leclerc said. “I think we maximized absolutely everything. I’m proud of what we’ve done. Now we just need to improve the car to be fighting a little bit further up.”

Mercedes teammates George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fifth and sixth respectively, with a subdued Lewis Hamilton coming home in seventh. Williams impressed in the midfield battle, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon securing eighth and ninth positions, helping their team climb to fifth in the constructors’ championship. Isack Hadjar rounded out the points positions in tenth place for Racing Bulls.

The Formula 1 circus now looks ahead to the Miami Grand Prix, where Piastri will arrive as the championship leader for the first time in his F1 career.

Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images