Oscar Piastri says he “he made my point” against Max Verstappen at the start of the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver claimed his third victory from five of the season in the Sunday night race in Jeddah.
Piastri appeared to start from the inside out from P2 and get a better launch than pole sitter Verstappen, and head forward towards the brake zone on turn 1.
However, Verstappen kept the lead by taking him to the outflow area and skipping corners. This was considered illegal by a steward who handed a five-second penalty to a Red Bull driver.
Annoyed Verstappen offered a penalty when he came in for only a pit stop and then fell behind Piastri, who continued to win in 2.843 seconds.
“It was a pretty tough race. I was clearly very happy to win, and yeah, I made a difference in the beginning. I made my case on Turn 1.
“It was really difficult to follow up there. I couldn’t stay with Max at the end of the first stint. I just bitten my tires and after the pit stop, the clean air was good.
“So, a great race. We did the necessary part to do the right thing. I think we still need a little more. Max was a little too close to our taste, but it was a great race and an amazing weekend.”
Detailed at his start, Piastri added:
“Obviously the stewards had to get involved, but I thought there was plenty, but in the end I got the race.
“So I’m very pleased with all the work we’ve done at the start. And yeah, that’s what beat us in the race today.”
Verstappen, Piastri
The championship lead is nothing different for Oscar Piastri
The victory marks Piastri’s first career lead to the top of the F1 World Championship rankings. He leads McLaren’s teammate Rand Norris 10 points.
But will the new position change anything for the piastry?
“No,” he replied. “I still want to go out and win every race I can.
“I’m not troubled by the fact that I’m leading a championship, but I’m proud of why we lead a championship and why.
“Melbourne wasn’t a great start to the year in terms of results, but from the moment I visited the track this season, I felt like I was in a good place.
“Leading the championship is the result of all the hard work we did in the offseason, the hard work I personally did, the hard work our team did.
“I’m more proud of all of these things than the fact that I’m leading the championship, because ultimately I want to lead after the 24th round rather than round five.”