Saudi Arabian Grand Prix results: Oscar Piastri wins as Max Verstappen fumes over penalty

held his nerve to win the , taking the lead of the World Championship. The star got the jump on in the pit cycle after the Dutchman picked up a penalty for a lap-one incident. The safety car came out before the end of the opening lap, after Pierre Gasly made a bold move around the outside of Yuki Tsunoda at the tight Turn Five complex.

The Red Bull racer was left with no room and tagged his good friend into a spin. Both drivers damaged their rear wings, taking them out of the race. There was more drama just a few corners earlier. After losing control of the inside to Piastri, Verstappen surged around the outside and retained the lead with help from the run-off area. After a brief investigation, the stewards hit the four-time world champion with a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

With the gap stretched to three seconds, McLaren attempted an undercut on lap 20. Piastri came out 22.5 seconds behind the Dutchman after a relatively slow stop. However, when his title rival filtered through a couple of laps later, he inherited the lead of the race.

Chancing on a safety car, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris both ran long. On lap 31, the Brit was setting purple sector times on hard compound tyres bolted on at the start of the race. McLaren finally brought their man in on lap 34, and he came out fifth, five seconds behind the Ferrari driver on one-step softer rubber.

Leclerc and Norris both found their way past George Russell, who was struggling to manage his tyres, but the McLaren man couldn't squeeze his way onto the podium. Out front, Piastri didn't put a foot wrong, crossing the line 2.8 seconds clear of Verstappen.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix results

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Lando Norris (McLaren)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

8. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

17. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

18. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

DNF - Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

DNF - Pierre Gasly (Alpine)