Adding a layer of drama is something controversy always brings to a motor race, and the fifth edition of the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix delivered plenty of action, highlighted by a significant moment at the first corner.
Max Verstappen had once again produced an almost unbelievable lap to secure pole position. This achievement might have been marginally assisted by a timely slipstream from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris` incident where his McLaren hit the wall, and a clever strategy by the Red Bull pit wall to allow him two rapid attempts in the final minutes after the resulting red flag period.
Most people involved in F1 would agree that Max Verstappen is currently the grid`s top driver. However, Oscar Piastri at McLaren is making swift progress. Despite having considerably fewer race starts (163 less than Verstappen and 82 less than Norris in F1), Piastri has already won 10% of his 51 career starts and currently leads the world championship. He is undoubtedly destined to improve further.
Piastri got off the line better than Verstappen from second place and reached the first corner apex comfortably alongside Max on the inside. The stewarding guidelines have been refined this year, meaning a driver who successfully “wins” a corner by being sufficiently alongside is no longer obligated to leave racing room on the outside. The onus is now on the other driver to concede the position. This change was introduced to prevent the outside driver from simply releasing their brakes or even accelerating, running wide, and then claiming they were ahead and weren`t given adequate space, thereby easily forcing a penalty on the inside driver. This is precisely the tactic Max seemed to attempt on Sunday evening.
Red Bull`s Tactical Misstep
While Max is adept at exploiting regulations, this time his gamble didn`t pay off. Sometimes incidents can be viewed from different angles, leading to debate and doubt about initial impressions, but accelerating across the run-off area with relatively little steering input clearly gave Max an unfair advantage and the lead. There was little doubt about this for me and many others, nor for the stewards, who imposed a five-second penalty. This was reduced from a potential 10 seconds because it occurred on the opening lap during close racing.
He ultimately finished the race 2.8 seconds behind. It`s plausible that if the team had instructed him to immediately give the position back, he might have won. Conversely, being in clean air out front helped him manage his tires, brakes, and engine temperature, allowing for strong pace throughout the first stint. Perhaps the benefits of leading were deemed worth the risk of a five-second penalty…
Had there been a wall, barrier, or gravel trap on the outside of Turn 1, Max would have had to yield and tuck in behind Piastri`s McLaren. Max remained visibly frustrated long after the race, believing the stewards made an error and that he had won the corner but was simply forced off track. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner strongly supported his driver`s view.
It`s understandable that they are wired to be ultra-competitive and perpetually convinced of their own righteousness. This mindset is a significant factor in their past dominance, but in this instance, they seemed to misjudge the situation and paid the price.
Piastri`s Fearless Drive and Other Race Highlights
Meanwhile, further back, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly unfortunately tangled at Turn 5, resulting in both cars backing into the wall and retiring from the race. It was a typical opening-lap incident, but one can imagine both drivers wishing they had left more room in their multi-corner side-by-side battle.
This incident handed Lando Norris a couple of early positions after his qualifying crash left him starting 10th. The chase was on for him, and the hard compound tires he started on were performing effectively. He quickly dispatched Carlos Sainz`s Williams, then caught Lewis Hamilton, who was experiencing a rather inconsistent race. Lewis strategically used the DRS detection point after the final corner to keep letting Lando pass into that corner, only to use DRS to easily repass him on the following long main straight.
Eventually, Lando realized the game, hung back, and then returned the favor on the main straight. However, he had lost three valuable laps of progress due to this battle, which potentially cost him a podium finish. He also overtook Kimi Antonelli`s Mercedes before settling in behind Charles Leclerc`s Ferrari, who impressively extended the life of his medium tires until lap 29. Lando, on a contrasting strategy, took his starting hard tires to lap 34.
Piastri was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 19. George Russell, who was struggling somewhat in his Mercedes, stopped on lap 20. Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 21. After serving his five-second penalty, he emerged in a net second place, just over four seconds behind the young Australian, Piastri.
The remainder of the race was a strategic cat-and-mouse game until the checkered flag on lap 50, but it always felt like Piastri had sufficient pace to keep Verstappen at bay, despite navigating some tricky traffic. Oscar executed a tremendous move on Lewis Hamilton to regain a position before Lewis pitted. It`s clear he shows little fear in high-speed corners, even when challenging someone of Lewis` caliber around the outside.
On his single pit stop, Norris pushed the limits, flirting with the white lines and the speed-limit zone entering the pits, and then drew attention from race control by nearly crossing the pit exit line too. He managed to get away with it and, after passing Russell, resumed his pursuit of Leclerc`s Ferrari.
Both Leclerc and Norris were driving exceptionally well, but the Ferrari driver ultimately secured his team`s first podium of the year, with Lando finishing just one second behind.
Hamilton`s Challenging Weekend
Russell finished a distant fifth after his tires degraded significantly, seven seconds ahead of his teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli. Overall, it was a disappointing race for Mercedes, described by the team as their worst of the season, especially after starting third and fifth and only managing fifth and sixth.
Lewis Hamilton finished half a minute behind Leclerc in seventh place, although he did show flashes of strong pace at times. The potential speed is there, but watching Lewis` post-race interviews recently has been difficult. He is clearly unhappy with his performance and appears quite perplexed and disappointed.
Carlos Sainz had a solid weekend for Williams, finishing in eighth place. He even strategically slowed down to give his teammate Alex Albon a tow, keeping him within DRS range to help fend off the impressive Isack Hadjar, who secured 10th place and the final point for Racing Bulls.
Haas did not score points in this race, and Williams moved up to fifth in the Constructors` Championship.
Fernando Alonso was visibly unhappy after the race, stating it was the worst experience he`d had in 25 years. He finished 11th after Liam Lawson received a 10-second penalty for an off-track pass where he didn`t yield the position. It`s worth remembering that just two years ago in his Aston Martin, Alonso was the only driver who could challenge Red Bull, indicating that Aston Martin`s relative pace has significantly declined since then.
McLaren currently leads the Constructors` Championship by 77 points, with their drivers Piastri and Norris holding the top two positions in the drivers` standings. However, if they continue to take points away from each other in future races, which seems highly probable, Max Verstappen, and to some extent Russell, will be ready to capitalize on that.
Norris needs a victory in Miami to regain momentum, but his competitors are formidable and constantly improving.
