Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and the lead in the world championship after a dramatic Turn 1, which was really the peak of the excitement in Jeddah. Max Verstappen effectively shot himself in the foot, handed Piastri the advantage, and the Australian driver never looked back. Oscar got a great start from second on the grid, drawing alongside Verstappen, and took the high ground at the apex. Instead of conceding, the Red Bull driver ran wide and cut the corner to hold onto the lead, and more importantly, the clean air. Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for the incident, and Piastri dutifully stayed within that window during the first stint. After leapfrogging the Red Bull during the pit stops, Piastri maintained a steady gap, managing the race well to secure his third win of the season.
Behind Piastri, Lando Norris delivered a strong recovery drive, climbing from tenth on the grid to finish fourth after a crash in Q3. Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari’s first podium of the year with a solid third-place finish, while George Russell and Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top six for Mercedes. There was some action behind, particularly on the main straight into Turn 1, but overall, it was a relatively straightforward affair with a one-stop strategy dominating the field. Now to the ratings.
Driver Ratings
Oscar Piastri – 8.3
Piastri’s commanding drive from second on the grid was a beautifully managed race, if not a tad boring. He capitalized on Verstappen’s indiscretion at Turn 1, stayed within the five-second penalty window, and executed a crucial overtake on Lewis Hamilton at Turn 22 to secure a comfortable lead while performing the undercut. With this win, Piastri has now won a tenth of all the races he’s ever competed in. Decent.
Max Verstappen – 7.9
Verstappen doesn’t really want to learn his lesson with these new overtaking rules. He basically replicated his situation with Norris in Austin last year and expected a difference result with the roles swapped around in Jeddah. The stewards didn’t agree with him this time and he earned himself a five-second penalty. Despite a fantastic qualifying performance, he couldn’t close the gap to Piastri in the second stint after losing the lead in the pits. While he showed good pace, the penalty ultimately cost him a shot at victory. However, is me having to write that show actually how good a job Verstappen is doing in that Red Bull?
Charles Leclerc – 8.4
Leclerc delivered Ferrari’s first podium of the year with a composed drive from 4th on the grid. He managed his mediums really well, pitting late on Lap 29 to create a nice tyre advantage and overtook George Russell to secure third place at the flag. This was Leclerc’s best performance of the year.
Lando Norris – 7.4
Norris recovered well from an eventful qualifying session to finish fourth. Starting tenth after crashing in Q3, he worked his way through the field methodically and was only 1.1 seconds behind a podium at the flag. These mistakes continue to cost him valuable points in the championship, mistakes which his rivals just aren’t making. Long way to go though.
George Russell – 7.5
Russell struggled with tyre overheating throughout the race, limiting his ability to challenge for the podium, despite running in 3rd for the first stint. While he finished fifth, it was a difficult performance by Mercedes’ standards in 2025 and a potential problem on the horizon as track temps will continue to rise as we get into the season.
Kimi Antonelli – 8.1
The Italian rookie impressed once again, finishing sixth after starting fifth. Despite a late brush with the wall, Antonelli showed pace and consistency, further cementing his reputation as one of the season’s standout drivers. You can argue against such a high score compared to Russell, but context is key here, he’s performancing beyond his experience.
Lewis Hamilton – 6.9
Lewis had a quiet race after a promising start, finishing seventh. He struggled with the Ferrari’s balance which has been a theme of 2025, finishing 30 seconds behind his teammate. The seven-time champion appears to be at odds with himself.
Carlos Sainz – 8.4
Sainz had a much-needed strong weekend, qualifying sixth and finishing eighth. He was the lead Williams driver throughout the weekend and played a key role in helping the team secure double points replicating his DRS tactic from Singapore 2023 to keep his teammate ahead of Hadjar.
Alex Albon – 7.9
Albon was outperformed by his teammate but still managed to score decent points for Williams as they took the best-of-the-rest honours. His ninth-place finish helped the team take fifth in the constructors’ championship.
Isaac Hadjar – 8.1
The French rookie continued to impress, finishing in the points again. He took advantage of the first lap crash to move up into the points and was threatening the Williams for more. Hadjar is staking a strong claim for Rookie of the Year, consistently delivering solid performances.
Fernando Alonso – 7.6
Alonso had a better race but still missed out on points. He narrowly avoided a collision with Gabriel Bortoleto, showed glimpses of pace, and took advantage of Lawson’s penalty but didn’t threaten the top ten.
Liam Lawson – 7.5
Lawson was unlucky to receive a ten-second penalty for running ever-so-slightly wide at Turn 1 overtaking Doohan which dropped him from 11th to 12th. Despite that setback, he showed better race pace.
Ollie Bearman – 7.8
Baerman was the leading Haas driver once again, finishing 13th. The young Englishman continues to impress in his rookie season against a solid F1 teammate.
Esteban Ocon – 6.2
Ocon was outperformed by his rookie teammate and failed to make an impact in the race. It was a quiet weekend for the French driver.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7.1
Hulkenberg finished 15th in what is arguably the slowest car on the grid. He did well to finish ahead of several drivers despite starting 18th.
Lance Stroll – 5.2
Stroll had another forgettable weekend, qualifying 16th and failing to make progress in the race. His lack of impact in Formula 1 continues.
Jack Doohan – 5.1
Doohan overtook Bortoleto on the final lap to hand over the wooden spoon to the Brazilian. That’s about it.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 5.1
Same as Doohan really, Bortoleto ran at the back all race, moved off the bottom during the pits but couldn’t hold on.
Pierre Gasly – 5.0
Pierre’s race ended on Lap 1 after a race incident with Yuki Tsunoda. As Martin Brundle says “2 into 1 doesn’t go” at Turn 4 with both ending in the barriers.
Yuki Tsunoda – 5.0
See above with a better qualifying performance from Yuki, getting into the Top 10 again.
Championship Standings
With this win, Piastri becomes the first Australian to lead the championship since Mark Webber in 2010. Verstappen and Norris remain close behind, while Mercedes and Ferrari continue to chase McLaren in the constructors’ standings. The season now heads to Miami in two weeks, where the battle for supremacy is sure to intensify.
The Perfect Formula 