Piastri: 'I wasn't coming out of Turn 1 in 2nd'

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Oscar Piastri expressed delight at winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, revealing that he had no intention of making Max Verstappen's life easy at Turn 1 after the start.

It was a hard-fought victory for the Australian driver, as the fast and twisty nature of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit took a visible physical toll on the drivers out on track.

Piastri, who started the Grand Prix from second on the starting grid after setting a time just 0.010 seconds slower than Verstappen in Qualifying, pulled alongside the Dutchman in the run up to the first corner.

The 24-year-old was ahead of Verstappen when the latter cut the second corner and re-joined the track back in the lead of the race. Stewards deemed this a violation of the regulations, and handed Verstappen a five-second penalty for the infringement.

Stewards Had To Get Involved

Verstappen eventually served his penalty during his pitstop, allowing Piastri to retake the net lead of the Grand Prix. The Australian didn't look back from that point onwards; although Verstappen remained close behind he was never able to threaten for P1.

Piastri was understandably extremely pleased to see the chequered flag in first. He said immediately after the race: "It was a pretty tough race. I’m very, very happy to have won.

"Made the difference at the start. 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 tyres. 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," added Piastri.

On his first lap incident with Verstappen, Piastri made his opinion very clear. He stated: "Once I got on the inside, I wasn’t coming out of Turn 1 in second. 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. So, I’m very happy with all the work we’ve been doing at the starts, and that’s what won us the race today," he concluded.

Piastri now leads the Drivers' Championship on 99 points, ten points ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris, and the first Australian driver to lead the standoings since his manager, Mark Webber, in 2010.