Oscar Piastri heads to Saudi Arabia Grand Prix looking to be first Australian since Mark Webber to lead F1

Oscar Piastri will become Australia’s first Formula One championship leader in 15 years if the McLaren racer wins for the third time this season in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, one of four drivers who could end the weekend on top after a tiring ‘triple header’ run of races on three successive weekends, is the only repeat winner so far in 2025.

Piastri has the momentum, the confidence and the car to beat leading teammate Lando Norris as he seeks to add Jeddah’s fast and floodlit street circuit to Shanghai and Bahrain on his victory list.

Currently three points adrift of Norris, who has led since the Melbourne opener, Piastri won in Bahrain from pole position with the fastest lap last Sunday.

He beat his teammate in Jeddah last year, finishing fourth to Norris’s eighth, and is now a step away from emulating manager Mark Webber, who led the standings with Red Bull in 2010.

Piastri has taken the reigns from Daniel Ricciardo as Australia’s premier F1 driver after Red Bull sacked Ricciardo late last year.

The West Australian’s best result was finishing third which he did at the end of the 2014 and 2016 seasons while racing for Red Bull.

“Jeddah is a track I really enjoy and have good memories of from past visits. I’m determined to hit the ground running in Saudi,” said Piastri.

Norris, who was highly self-critical of his performance in Bahrain despite four podiums from four starts, is also keen to pick up speed in the fifth edition of the race on the shores of the Red Sea.

“Congrats to Oscar and the whole McLaren team. And I’ll try step it up for next weekend,” he said last Sunday.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, winner in Japan but eight points behind Norris, will seek to deny McLaren at a circuit that has been good to him in the past.

The Dutch 27-year-old was the winner last year, and in 2022, but this time he is more of an outsider after a tough night under the floodlights in Bahrain.

“Typically, there is less tyre degradation at this circuit, so it naturally should be a better race for us,” he said.

“We have a final push with this being the third race and final weekend of the triple header so hopefully we can find more pace and bring out a performance similar to Japan.”

George Russell is the fourth possible leader, albeit 14 points adrift of Norris at present, with the Mercedes driver in fine form but still chasing a first win of the year.

“Jeddah poses a different challenge,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “It would be foolish to try and predict the likely order but we will be aiming to fight for the podium once again.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who set the fastest lap in Jeddah last year, is fifth overall and 45 points behind Norris.

Further back, the weekend is an anniversary for Haas rookie Oliver Bearman who made a sensational debut at the Jeddah circuit with Ferrari as a stand-in last year.

The Briton has started his first full season strongly, scoring points in three of four races including 10th from last place in Bahrain.

“I’m very excited to return to Jeddah, it’s the first repeat race of my career which is pretty cool,” he said.

“Having had the experience of last year was very nice and helpful and was a highlight of my life so far, having my debut with Ferrari, that track will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Every team has opened its account now but three rookies - Alpine’s Australian driver Jack Doohan, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls’ New Zealander Liam Lawson - have yet to score along with Aston Martin’s double world champion Fernando Alonso.