BERLIN, April 21 (Bernama-dpa) -- Oscar Piastri made the most of a five-second penalty for Max Verstappen to claim a third season victory at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on Sunday which sent him to the top of the Formula One championship, reported German news agency (dpa).
McLaren's Piastri won from reigning champion Verstappen of Red Bull who had started from pole but then cut an early corner in a fight for the lead with Piastri which was deemed gaining an advantage and penalised by race stewards.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had a strong race to finish third, and Lando Norris was fourth in the second McLaren in a recovery from 10th on the grid due to a crash in qualifying.
But it was not good enough to stay first in the championship as Piastri dethroned him at the top after five races.
Verstappen was also in the mix with another strong performance, including a surprise pole position. However, unlike two weeks ago in Japan, it didn’t translate into a race win. Still, he proved once again that he can keep pace with the superior McLarens.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
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