Piastri wins Saudi Grand Prix to take championship lead
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, April 21 (AP): Oscar Piastri has shown he has the pace to fight for the Formula 1 title. In winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he showed he can win an argument, too.
For the first time this season, a penalty played a key role in deciding a race win as Piastri went top of the standings with his victory.
Piastri's two earlier wins this season had been dominant drives from pole position. This time, he had to get past four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Verstappen started on pole but went off the track when battling for the lead with Piastri at the very first corner. He stayed in front but got a five-second penalty. Piastri argued he had gotten in front of Verstappen on the inside of the corner and deserved the place.
"Once I got on the inside, I wasn't coming out of turn one in second," Piastri said.
"I tried my best. The stewards had to get involved. I thought I was plenty far enough up, and that's what won me the race.'
Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, and Piastri's McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, finished fourth thanks to a smart strategy and overtaking. Norris had started 10th following a crash in qualifying.
It was the second win in a row for Piastri, who took the victory in Bahrain last week and has three wins from five races this year. He'd only won two before this season.
Piastri leads the standings by 10 points from Norris, with Verstappen two points further back in third.
Piastri was three points behind Norris going into Sunday's race, partly because of a costly spin at his home race in Australia, the first GP of the season.
He becomes the first Australian to lead the F1 standings since Mark Webber, who is now Piastri's manager, in 2010 as a Red Bull driver. No Australian has won the title since Alan Jones in 1980.
Piastri said the penalty was what gave him the win. He had problems keeping up with Verstappen's car before the pit stops without damaging his tires.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
Al-Hilal land former Inter boss Inzaghi as new manager
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 5, (AP): Simone Inzaghi took over as head coach of Al-Hilal on Wednesday, a day after leaving Inter Milan and two weeks before the Saudi Arabian club's first game at the Club World Cup. Inzaghi signed a two-year deal after Al-Hilal lured him with an offer of reportedly more than 20 million euros ($23 million) per season. "The Italian genius is here,' the Saudi club said in a social media post. Inter was routed 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final last Saturday, marking the most lopsided defeat in the 70-year history of major European finals. The 49-year-old Inzaghi coached Inter to the Serie A title last year and was also in charge when the Nerazzurri lost the 2023 Champions League title to Manchester City. He was at Inter for four years.
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
Australia is on the brink of 2026 World Cup qualification
PERTH, Australia, June 5 (AP): A last-minute goal from Aziz Behich gave Australia a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth on Thursday and put the Socceroos within touching distance of the 2026 World Cup. With just the top two from Asia Group C certain of a place in the tournament, Australia was six points clear of third and will qualify for a sixth successive World Cup later Thursday if Saudi Arabia, next week's final group opponent, fails to win in Bahrain. The already-qualified Japan fielded an experimental XI with only Daichi Kamada and Koki Machida having made more than four international appearances, but still had the majority of possession and chances. Substitute Takefusa Kubo had perhaps the best opportunity with 10 minutes remaining, but the midfielder shot wide of the post from inside the area. In the 90th minute, Riley McGree broke free down the right and pulled back for Behich to curl home to bring Perth Stadium to its feet and give Australia a first win over Japan in 16 years. "It hasn't sunk in just yet, but when the final whistle went, it was a great feeling,' Behich said. "It was a tough game, and we had to grind it out. It's been a long campaign, and we have worked so hard.' The teams that finish third and fourth in the three groups in this third round of Asian qualifying will advance to a fourth stage to compete for the remaining two Asian places at the World Cup.
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
‘Emotional' Kohli fulfils IPL dream as Bengaluru claim first title
RCB end title drought after three defeats in the finals AHMEDABAD: Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad. Kohli's 43 from 35 balls at the top of the order set up Bengaluru for an imposing total of 190-9 which was one big blow for a Punjab side that battled until the end, finishing on 184-7. More than 91,000 fans packed into the 132,000-capacity stadium, a sea of Bengaluru's red and Kohli's jersey number 18 dominating the stands as chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' rang out. They celebrated noisily when Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat. The 36-year-old Kohli, one of India's all-time greats in all formats of the game, collapsed on the ground after the win and then got up to be hugged by his teammates as the crowd celebrated their hero. 'This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team, it's been 18 long years,' said Kohli. 'I've given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. I gave it everything I have. I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled. I have stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. My heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore and this is the team I'll play for till the last day I play the IPL.' Punjab put up a feisty response to the Bengaluru total but faltered in their chase after left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya took 2-17 from his four overs. Shashank Singh hit a valiant 61 not out and finished with three sixes and a four off Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who defended 29 runs in the final over. Hazlewood, who took 3-21 against Punjab in last week's qualifier win after recovering from a shoulder injury, struck first to send back left-handed Priyansh Arya for 24 with Phil Salt taking a stunning catch at the ropes. Impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh was the next to go off Pandya but the Bengaluru crowd went wild when Romario Shepherd had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for one. 'King Kohli' Pandya stuck again to cut short Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis' stay on 39 and Bengaluru seized momentum and Shashank's late blitz was not enough. 'I am very proud of each and every individual who has participated in this team,' said Iyer. 'There are a lot of youngsters who are playing their first season, they've shown a lot of fearlessness. We wouldn't be here without them. Kudos to them.' Bengaluru had the perfect start as 'King Kohli' dug in. Far from his fluent best, he only struck three fours during his innings but in the end it turned out to be key. He lost opening partner Salt for 16 when New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson struck in his first over to have the England batter caught in the deep off Iyer. Kohli, who was his team's best batter this season with 657 runs including eight half-centuries, anchored the innings, sharing important partnerships with Mayank Agarwal, who made 24, and then skipper Rajat Patidar, who hit 26. But Punjab kept chipping away with wickets as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got Agarwal and Jamieson trapped the captain lbw. Kohli's vigil ended when he mistimed a rising delivery from Afghanistan pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai for a caught and bowled, the disappointment etched across his face mirrored by his fans. Jamieson took his third wicket to cut short Liam Livingstone's rampant 25 off 15 balls. Wickets kept tumbling as wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma fell for a 10-ball 24 and Romario Shepherd for 17 off nine balls. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took three wickets including Shepherd in the 20th over and gave away just three runs. The 18th edition of the world's richest cricket league ended nine days late due to a pause caused by the military conflict between India and Pakistan. — AFP
