A touch of controversy consistently enhances a motor race, and the fifth Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix delivered plenty of action alongside a significant first-corner incident.
Max Verstappen had once again produced a nearly unbelievable lap to secure pole position, possibly aided slightly by a timely slipstream from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. This followed Lando Norris scraping his McLaren against the wall and smart strategy from the Red Bull pit wall to fuel Verstappen for two quick runs after the resulting red flag.
Few people involved in F1 would argue that Max is currently anything other than the top driver on the grid. However, Oscar Piastri at McLaren is rapidly developing. Despite being far less experienced than Verstappen (163 race starts difference) and Norris (82 F1 races difference), he has now won 10 percent of his 51 race starts and leads the world championship. He is only expected to improve further.
Piastri got off the line better than Verstappen from second place and arrived at the first corner apex comfortably alongside on the inside. The driving rules for stewards have been refined this year; a driver who “wins” a corner by being sufficiently alongside is no longer required to leave racing room on the outside.
The onus is now on the other driver to yield and slot in behind. This revision was intended to prevent the outside driver from simply ignoring brakes, or even accelerating, running wide, and then claiming they were ahead but weren`t given sufficient space, thereby easily forcing the inside driver into a penalty. This is precisely what Max attempted on Sunday evening.
Ultra-competitive Red Bull Make Misread
Max is exceptional at exploiting the regulations, but for the first time, he took a gamble and lost. Sometimes you can view incidents from different angles and debate the scenario, questioning your initial reaction. However, accelerating across the run-off area with relatively little steering input had clearly given Max an unfair advantage and the lead.
Both I and many others had no doubt about the situation, and neither did the stewards who issued a five-second penalty. This was reduced from a potential 10 seconds because it occurred on the opening lap during close racing.
He would eventually finish the race 2.8 seconds behind. It`s possible that if his team had instructed him to immediately give the position back, he might have won. On the other hand, being out front in clear air helped protect his tires, brakes, and engine from overheating, giving him strong pace throughout the first stint. Perhaps taking a five-second penalty for that benefit was considered worthwhile…
If there had been a wall, barrier, or gravel trap on the outside of turn one, Max undoubtedly would have yielded and tucked in behind Piastri`s McLaren.
Max remained furious long after the race, believing the stewards had made an error and that he had rightfully claimed the corner but was simply forced off track. Christian Horner, the team boss, also strongly supported his driver.
I understand their nature is to be intensely competitive, along with an endless conviction that they are right and everyone else is wrong. That mindset is why they have dominated so many seasons, but on this occasion, they didn`t assess the situation correctly and paid the price.
Piastri Shows Fearlessness
Meanwhile, behind them, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly unfortunately made contact in turn five, resulting in both cars retiring after backing into the wall. It was a typical opening lap incident, but I`m sure if they had the chance again, they would both have left more space in their multi-corner side-by-side battle.
This allowed Lando Norris to gain a couple of early positions after his qualifying crash left him 10th on the grid. He began his charge, and the hard compound tires he started on were working very well.
He quickly passed Carlos Sainz`s Williams. Then, Lando caught Lewis Hamilton, who was having a mixed event that would continue until the end of the race. Lewis was well aware that the DRS detection point was after the final corner, so he repeatedly allowed Lando through into that corner, only to easily repass him on the following long pit straight using DRS.
Eventually, Lando figured out the tactic, held back, and then returned the favor down the pit straight. However, he had lost three important laps of progress, which potentially cost him a podium finish.
He also overtook Kimi Antonelli`s Mercedes and then stayed within sight of Charles Leclerc`s Ferrari, who impressively managed his medium compound tires until lap 29. Lando, on a counter-strategy, took his starting hard compound tires to lap 34.
Piastri was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 19. George Russell, who was just managing in his Mercedes, stopped on lap 20, and Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 21. After serving his five-second penalty, he rejoined the track in a net second place, just over four seconds behind the young Australian, Piastri.
It became a strategic battle until the checkered flag on lap 50, but it always felt like Piastri had sufficient pace to hold off Verstappen, despite some challenging traffic. Oscar executed a tremendous overtake on Lewis Hamilton to regain a position before Lewis pitted. He clearly demonstrates little fear in high-speed corners, even when overtaking someone of Lewis`s caliber around the outside.
During his single pit stop, Norris went close to 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. However, he just avoided penalties for these instances. Once he passed Russell, he set his sights on catching Leclerc`s Ferrari again.
Both Leclerc and Norris were performing exceptionally, but the Ferrari driver secured the Italian team`s first grand prix podium of the year, with Lando finishing just one second behind.
Hamilton Interviews Hard to Watch
Russell finished a distant fifth after his tires gave up, seven seconds ahead of his teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Overall, it was a disappointing race for Mercedes, which they described as their worst of the season. This was particularly frustrating as they started third and fifth but finished fifth and sixth.
Hamilton ended up half a minute behind Leclerc in seventh place, although he showed strong pace at times. The potential is there, but it`s difficult to watch Lewis during post-race interviews currently. He is not satisfied with his performance and is clearly quite perplexed and disappointed.
Carlos Sainz had a very good weekend for Williams, finishing in eighth place. He even slowed down to effectively tow his teammate Alex Albon behind him by keeping him within DRS range, helping Albon defend against the consistently impressive Isack Hadjar, who secured 10th place and the final point for Racing Bulls.
Haas did not score points in this race, and Williams now moves up to fifth in the Constructors` Championship.
Fernando Alonso was extremely unhappy after the race, stating it was the worst he had experienced in 25 years. He finished 11th after Liam Lawson received a 10-second penalty for passing off-track and not giving the position back. However, it`s worth remembering that just two years ago in his Aston Martin, he was the only driver who could challenge Red Bull, and Aston Martin seems to have lost significant relative pace 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 from each other in future races, which is highly probable, then despite McLaren`s slight race-pace advantage, Verstappen and, to some extent, Russell will be ready to capitalize on that.
Norris needs to win in Miami to regain a stronger position, but his competitors are formidable and only getting better and faster.
Wesley Dunham 
Gilbert Pendleton