Front-row starters Verstappen and Piastri went wheel-to-wheel into the Jeddah street track’s first corner but stewards soon issued the Red Bull driver with the costly time sanction after judging he had unfairly cut the chicane to stay ahead of the faster-starting McLaren driver.
And having stayed comfortably within that five-second margin behind Verstappen through the race’s first stint, Piastri duly jumped ahead of his Dutch rival when the world champion served the penalty at the sole round of pit stops.
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Piastri never relinquished his advantage over Verstappen thereafter and the impressive Australian won by 3s for his third victory in five races this season, giving him a maiden lead of the Drivers’ Championship over team-mate Lando Norris.
Pre-race points leader Norris charged from 10th to fourth after his costly qualifying crash on an alternative tyre strategy, but just fell short in his attempt to overhaul Charles Leclerc for third through the closing laps.
Leclerc, who had started fourth, drove his own fine race after an extended first stint, overtaking Mercedes’ George Russell on fresher tyres to claim Ferrari’s first Grand Prix podium this season.
Indeed having run in the final podium berth for most of the race, the late overtakes by Leclerc and Norris on fresher tyres saw Russell relegated to fifth ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli in sixth.
Lewis Hamilton finished where he qualified in seventh after his weekend-long struggle for grip continued in the Ferrari.
Williams, meanwhile, scored a useful double top-10 result with Carlos Sainz capping a fine weekend to take eighth ahead of team-mate Alex Albon.
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took the final point in 10th.
The Safety Car, meanwhile, continued its 100 per cent appearance record since the super-fast wall-lined Jeddah track joined the calendar in 2021 after a first-lap crash between Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the result of which saw both drivers retire.
More to follow…
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