P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The “insane” pace that McLaren showed at the start of the Saudi Arabian GP weekend made Red Bull all the more surprised that it was a match for F1 2025’s benchmark in the race itself
Max Verstappen was surprised by his competitive performance with Oscar Piastri during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as described by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. Verstappen lost a potential win due to a penalty for going off-track to defend his lead from Piastri. Despite serving the penalty and falling behind the McLaren, Verstappen closed in on Piastri towards the end of the race. Verstappen praised the improvements made to his car during the race, acknowledging the challenges posed by tire degradation on different tracks. Red Bull suggested McLaren had closed the performance gap with Red Bull and Ferrari, while Mercedes struggled in this race. McLaren’s strong showing in practice may have been influenced by various factors, leading to a misleading impression of their true pace. Nonetheless, Piastri acknowledged that McLaren still held an advantage over Red Bull despite Verstappen’s late charge.
