Oscar Piastri believes standing his ground against Max Verstappen at the start was the key to his victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Australian got down the inside of polesitter Verstappen off the line and the defending champion tried to respond around the outside of Turn 1, but cut Turn 2 and remained ahead. The move earned Verstappen a 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, allowing Piastri to take the lead during the pit stops and secure his third win of the season.
“Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second,” Piastri said. “I tried my best. Obviously the stewards had to get involved, but I thought I was plenty far enough up and in the end that’s what got me the race. I’m very, very happy with all the work we’ve been doing in the starts, and that’s what won us the race today.
“It was a pretty tough race. Very, very happy to have obviously won, and made the difference at the start. I made my case into Turn 1 and that was enough. It was really tricky to follow out there. I couldn’t really stay with Max at the end of the first stint, just chewed up my tires and then the clean air was nice after the pit stop.
“Great race. We did the parts we needed to right; still need a bit more, I think. Max was a little bit too close for our liking, but a great race and a great weekend.”
Although Piastri felt it was an important move in the race, he doesn’t see the incident as a significant marker against a potential championship rival.
“I mean, not specifically against Max, but I knew I was so far alongside that that was going to be my corner and I obviously knew it was going to be a difficult fight given it’s Max, but I think I did everything I needed to. If the shoe was on the other foot it would have looked identical probably, so no, I think it was good racing and I think it was the right call.”
Both McLaren drivers cited Red Bull’s pace as impressive, but Piastri insists he still had a car advantage in Jeddah, even if it wasn’t as big as he had predicted.
“I think our car was still quicker,” he said. “I think it was difficult to be in dirty air. Max was quicker than I expected for sure in the race. I thought over one lap it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Max quick, but in the race, I wasn’t expecting to struggle so much at the end of the medium stint, that’s for sure.
“Clearly we’ve got some work to do. I think our car is still very good, but when you look at the layout here compared to Suzuka, it’s the most similar so far, and it’s been the two where Max and Red Bull have been closer. I think we still have an advantage. I don’t think it’s as big on surfaces like this and layouts like this, but we still have a very strong car at the moment.”
