Max Verstappen's Surprising Pace At Saudi Arabian Grand Prix As Oscar Piastri Extends F1 Championship Lead

How Red Bull former designer Adrian Newey must have been eating his words on Sunday night watching four-time world champion Max Verstappen swoop through the Jeddah Corniche with the RB21 for a P2 finish and 18 points at the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix.

Had it not been for the tussle with race winner Oscar Piastri at the start of the race, Verstappen would surely convert his pole position into another victory, like he did at Suzuka weeks ago.

Verstappen and Piastri went wheel to wheel into turn one, and ended up cutting Turn 2 to retain his lead.

The stewards eventually penalised the Dutch-Belgian racer.

Like the arrival of Afrikaans in the South African national anthem, Verstappen found pace out of the blue in Jeddah. This comes after weeks of complaints that the car was not right.