By Alex Rhodes

After dominating in Bahrain, McLaren’ Oscar Piastri carried that momentum into Saudi Arabia, taking victory over Max Verstappen by 2.8 seconds.

However, the win was not without controversy, as a clash between the pair at Turn 1 resulted in a five-second penalty for Verstappen, as he was deemed to have gained an unfair sporting advantage.

The Red Bull driver kept his post-race interview brief, stating: “You can’t share your opinion because it’s not appreciated apparently, or people can’t handle the full truth.

“Honestly, it’s better if I don’t say too much.

“It’s honestly just how everything is becoming. Everyone is super-sensitive about everything.

“And what we have (in the rules) currently, we cannot be critical anyway. So less talking, even better for me.” referring not just to the penalty but also to recent changes in the FIA’s rulebook.

These updates, introduced over the winter, now penalise drivers for criticising the governing body.

Behind Verstappen, Charles Leclerc brought Ferrari its first podium of the season.

His race pace impressed, but he remained critical of Ferrari’s qualifying performance, saying: “Looking forward, we have to focus on qualifying.

“Sector one was our main weakness in qualifying here, while it may have been our best sector in the race, so we will work on finding the right balance there and push to make another step forward.”

His teammate Lewis Hamilton struggled all weekend saying: “It was a challenging weekend with a lack of pace and consistency across the three days.

“I’m focused on working with the team and seeing what we can bring to Miami.

“Huge congratulations to Charles and the team for a well-deserved podium.” Hamilton has consistently trailed Leclerc this season, unable to find an answer for the Monegasque’s pace.

It was also a frustrating weekend for Lando Norris, with a heavy crash in Q3 leaving him starting from P10, but he recovered well in the race, finishing fourth and pressuring Leclerc in the final laps for the podium.

Norris, known for being self-critical, admitted he is not surprised to have lost the championship lead to his teammate, saying in his press conference: “It’s the mistakes I’ve made over the last few Saturdays.”

Though he remains confident he can regain his qualifying edge from last year.

A lap-one crash between Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly opened the door for midfield teams to score strong points.

The Williams duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon capitalised, with Sainz even giving his teammate DRS late in the race to help fend off Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, who had just pitted for medium tyres.

The tactic worked, with Williams finishing eighth and ninth, moving ahead of Haas in the Constructors’ standings.

Liam Lawson received a ten-second time penalty for a Turn 1 incident with Jack Doohan, meaning Fernando Alonso narrowly missed points in eleventh.

After finishing fifth here last year, Aston Martin looked uncompetitive all weekend.

Alonso admitted: “It’s going to be hard to score points this year,” in a car that was lapping slower than its 2024 counterpart.

Also outside the points were the Haas duo of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon, who lacked the pace for the top 10, resulting in a drop to sixth in the Constructors’ standings.

Behind them were the two Kick Sauber drivers, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto with the Brazilian finishing last after a last-lap scrap with Alpine’s Doohan, who is facing mounting pressure from the team.

As the triple-header concludes, Oscar Piastri leads the championship, the first Australian to do so since his manager, Mark Webber in 2010.

His teammate Norris sits just 10 points behind, and will be feeling confident heading to Miami, where he claimed his maiden win last season.

The first of the USA Grand Prix takes place on May 2-4.