Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Look back - Piastri goes pole in the Drivers Championship

It was another exhilarating weekend of racing in Jeddah on the Formula 1 calendar which welcomed a new leader in the World Driver Championship.

The first lap proved an eventful one for both Red Bull and Alpine. Former teammates at Red Bull junior team Alpha Tauri, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda ended their race in the first lap on the third and fourth corner after Gasly attempted a bold overtake in the battle for P8. Tsunoda told Sky Sports F1 ‘I don’t think I could have done better’ and will look ahead to the week break before heading to Miami where he will be testing previous Red Bull models at Silverstone. There was seemingly a clear level of sportsmanship and no bad blood between the former teammates whose friendship is notorious in the Formula 1 paddock, appearing on social media in the paddock after the race together.

Red Bull faced another upset in the first lap in the form of Max Verstappen after being hit with a 5 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage over Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri, running wheel to wheel with the Australian driver and cutting into the second turn to retain pole position. The penalty has proven in the last 24 hours to be deeply controversial, dividing opinions in the Formula 1 community. Verstappen ended the race in P2, trailing Piastri by around 3 seconds. This pushes Verstappen’s trail to become World Drivers Championship leader to 12 points. When asked to comment on the penalty in press interviews, Verstappen declined to comment in order to protect himself from potential FIA penalties.

However, for Oscar Piastri, it was a memorable race in Jeddah. Piastri’s win places him as the leader of the World Drivers Championship, above his much-tipped teammate Lando Norris after only 3 years on the grid. Piastri became the first Australian driver to lead the championship since Mark Webber at Red Bull over a decade ago. Piastri also becomes the first winner of multiple races this season, and is looking to be hungry for more to maintain his championship lead. Piastri is certainly a star in the future of Formula 1. The podium in Jeddah was completed by none other than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, his maiden podium of the season for the Italian team.

It was also a race to celebrate for Williams, a double points finish for both Carlos Sainz Jr and Alex Albon in P8 and P9 respectively. The partnership is proving to be a successful one for Williams, extending their lead over Haas and advancing to 5th place in the Constructors Championship. Statistically, Williams have had the best start to their season since 2016 with Felippe Massa and current Mercedes reserve driver Valterri Bottas. Williams are seemingly constantly improving, and no doubt, both Sainz and Albon will be aiming to catch up to the big 4 constructors in the upcoming races.

Looking ahead to Miami, the battle for World Champion is at one of the tightest margins we have seen since Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s domination in recent seasons. Piastri will be aiming for a solid qualifying to maintain key points towards his championship lead, meanwhile Norris and Verstappen will be hot on Piastri’s heels to aid their own championship campaigns. The championship is heating up and everyone’s eyes will be on the papaya of Oscar Piastri.