A five-second time penalty cost Max Verstappen a potential victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, as Oscar Piastri secured his third Formula 1 race win of the season for McLaren.

The Australian driver took the chequered flag in Jeddah ahead of Verstappen, with the Dutchman settling for second place for Red Bull. Piastri’s triumph sees him move to the top of the drivers’ standings, surpassing his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who finished fourth.

Verstappen, who started the race from pole position, was dealt an early blow shortly after lights out. Piastri made a lightning-fast getaway and snatched the lead at the first corner. However, Verstappen immediately retook the position by cutting across the corner in a controversial move.

The McLaren driver called on race stewards to order Verstappen to relinquish the place, but instead the stewards opted to issue a five-second time penalty against the reigning world champion.

Verstappen served the penalty during his first pit stop, which allowed Piastri to regain the lead. Despite his best efforts, Verstappen was unable to close the gap, eventually crossing the line 2.8 seconds adrift.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc delivered an impressive performance to secure the final podium place, finishing third, while Britain’s George Russell claimed fifth for Mercedes.

It was a day to forget for Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver collided with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine shortly after the start, sustaining terminal damage that forced him to retire from the race.

Despite the early setback, Verstappen extracted maximum pace from his Red Bull on the high-speed Jeddah circuit. He fought hard to maintain his lead over Piastri in the opening laps, but the time penalty ultimately proved decisive.

Piastri pitted for fresh tyres on lap 20 of the 50-lap race, while Verstappen stopped two laps later, pausing for the five-second penalty before the team could begin the tyre change.

Rejoining the race in fifth, Verstappen launched a determined recovery, overtaking Lewis Hamilton before setting his sights on Piastri. Though he managed to reduce the gap in the closing laps, the Dutchman was unable to mount a serious challenge for victory.