F1 Takeaways: McLaren could soon face tough decision with Piastri and Norris
As Oscar Piastri picked up his third victory of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and surpassed teammate Lando Norris for the championship lead, McLaren may have a difficult decision looming in its future.
Oscar Piastri picked up his second straight win, and third of the season, Sunday at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver also surpassed teammate Lando Norris in the points and finds himself as the championship leader for the first time in his career.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second after starting on pole position. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came in third ahead of Norris, who started 10th due to a crash in qualifying and finished fourth.
Here are our takeaways from the Saudi Arabian GP.
McLaren could soon face tough decision
If you’re McLaren, who do you choose?
• Norris, the more experienced driver of the two whom you favoured in the championship chase last season and who also got out to a hot start this year.
• Piastri, who has three wins in the past four races and is staking his claim as a bona fide No. 1 driver in his own right.
It’s not a decision McLaren will have to make right this moment, but as Piastri’s wins (and Norris’s mistakes) continue to add up, it’s one the team could face sooner rather than later.
Piastri holds a 10-point advantage over Norris with four-time reigning world champion Verstappen an additional two points back in third.
If not for a spin in the rain during the season opener in his hometown of Melbourne, Piastri’s grip on the championship would be greater. But again, that should serve as a reminder that things could go sideways for either driver. With neither Piastri nor Norris showing a significant advantage (yet), it’s best to continue to let it play out and see where it goes. Let the drivers prove it on track who is better and the choice may be decided for McLaren.
A McLaren driver hasn’t won the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, but the team’s main concern is defending the constructors’ championship. Norris and Piastri are the best driver pairing on the grid, with McLaren holding a 77-point cushion in the team standings over second-place Mercedes.
One thing’s for sure: our bold prediction might not have been so bold after all.
Verstappen settles for second
From “simply lovely” Saturday to “(expletive) lovely” Sunday, Verstappen’s weekend was flipped upside down with his penalty.
Verstappen nabbed pole position by the slimmest of margins — 0.01 seconds quicker than Piastri — for a race he had won twice previously and one where the driver on pole has been victorious three times in four outings.
The historical odds may have favoured Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver hadn’t been challenged by a McLaren like this on the track before.
Piastri got out to a better launch at the start and held the inside line heading into the first turn. Verstappen ran out of real estate and had no choice but to drive through the runoff area, resulting in a five-second penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage. (Well, he could have backed off, but remember, this is Verstappen we’re talking about.)
Although Verstappen believed he was run off the track, the stewards felt otherwise. Verstappen is lucky as the stewards mentioned in their report that they could have issued a 10-second penalty, but decided five was best suited, given it was a lap one, turn one incident.
Verstappen served his penalty during his pit stop and could only watch as Piastri passed en route to victory. He wasn’t able to mount a comeback either, finishing 2.843 seconds back of Piastri. It’ll be a tough one to swallow, but Verstappen will just have to take his medicine this time.
Some hope for Norris
It was a false start penalty last week in Bahrain that hampered Norris. This time, it was a costly crash during qualifying that knocked him out of contention before the race even started.
Still, it was a valiant recovery drive from Norris as the biggest mover of the day — and a wonderful repair job from McLaren — but it’s short of what should have been, considering the lightning pace he showed through practice and up until his crash during the third stage of qualifying.
It also could have gone sideways during the race as Norris was investigated for an alleged pit lane infringement, but was cleared.
F1 has a weekend off before everyone takes their talents to South Beach for the Miami Grand Prix and the site of Norris’s first career victory last year. That win was aided by a little luck as Norris benefited from a pit stop under a safety car. Perhaps a little more luck will get him back on top.
Pit stops
• Kudos to Leclerc for rounding out the podium as the Monegasque driver has outperformed his new teammate Hamilton in all four GPs they’ve finished this season. Hamilton finished seventh in Saudi Arabia and a distant 31 seconds back of Leclerc. Outside of his sprint win in China, Hamilton’s tenure with Ferrari has gotten out to an underwhelming start.
• As mentioned earlier, Mercedes is second in the constructors’ championship, but it sure didn’t look like the second-best car on track. George Russell qualified third but finished fifth, roughly 18 seconds behind Norris and needing to nurse his tires to the end. What Mercedes does have are two drivers, Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who are consistently scoring points. The 18-year-old rookie Antonelli came in sixth.
• After scoring points in the first two GPs of the season, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll has now finished in the bottom five in the past three races. The Canadian driver is still 10th in the standings, somehow, but he won’t be for much longer.
Quote of the day
“He might not have a flight back home tomorrow.” — Piastri, after watching the replay of Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto making contact with his manager, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
