Oscar Piastri Leads The Standings, 10 Points Ahead Of Rival & Teammate Lando Norris
McLaren were triumphant at the 2025 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix in the hands of Oscar Piastri. He was able to win after Max Verstappen, who finished 2nd, was given a 5-second time penalty for cutting the corner and gaining an advantage.
With this victory, Piastri is in the lead of the championship from teammate Lando Norris by 10 points. Coincidentally, Mark Webber, the last Australian to lead the F1 championship, is Piastri’s manager.
Charles Leclerc finished 3rd, claiming his first and Ferrari’s first podium of the season after fending off a charge from Lando Norris, who finished 4th.
Mclaren
Oscar Piastri got an amazing start and was able to gain enough traction to be level with Verstappen. However, at turn 1, the Dutch driver cut across the track. This is the point where Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly had a racing incident, and had to retire. The Safety Car was deployed so that the debris was cleared from the damage.
Ultimately Max Verstappen didn’t hand the position back, and hence, received a 5-second penalty. Interestingly, it could’ve been a harsher 10-second penalty if the incident didn’t occur on the first lap, according to stewards who termed it as mitigating circumstance. Oscar Piastri won the race by 2.843 seconds.
The Redbull driver led the first stint, and according to Piastri, it was quite difficult to follow due to the dirty air. However, due to the penalty and the marginal pace advantage of the McLaren MCL39 racecar, Piastri was able to take the lead in the second stint.
Lando Norris, who was the title leader going into the race, finished P4, which was after a satisfactory recovery drive after he crashed in Q3 and started P10. However, he needs to iron out these mistakes to win the title.
Redbull
The Redbull team had an interesting weekend. Max Verstappen lost the race, and Yuki Tsunoda didn’t finish. However, it is still a net positive weekend as the team faced issues in Friday’s practice. The Austrian team was able to get pole position after an amazing final Q3 run by Max Verstappen.
However, Max was extremely annoyed of the penalty that was handed over to him. It is important to note that the Dutch driver refused to speak a lot and didn’t criticize the FIA for the penalty. The frustration was visible in the post-race interview and the cool-down room.
The Red Bull F1 Team had a positive weekend due to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit’s low tyre degradation, which benefited the team. It remains to be seen how they will perform at high degradation circuits.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc had an impressive weekend where he drove the Ferrari SF25 at its limit and qualified in P4. The Monegasque driver opted for a long medium stint and switched to hard tyres on lap 30. In this manner, he was able to fend off a charge from Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton, who joined Ferrari in 2025, finished P7, and it was a weekend where the British driver couldn’t get to terms with the Ferrari as well as his teammate. However, he did show glimpses of excellent racecraft as he battled Norris and twice overtook him to defend his position.
Other Drivers
Mercedes duo George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished in P5 and P6, respectively, after having a consistent pace. Both the Williams drivers, i.e. Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz, also scored points, and Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 in his RB.
Outlook
It can be observed that Mclaren will be the favourites for the constructors title as they are 77 points ahead of Mercedes already. The title battle will be an interesting one as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have their own strengths and weaknesses. The most fascinating aspect of this title battle is how does Max Verstappen defend his title run in an inferior Redbull.
