International media deliver a clear verdict on Verstappen after Piastri incident in Jeddah

The Australian sealed his third win in five races with victory around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, now sitting ahead of his teammate Lando Norris in the drivers' championship.

Different media have also pointed to Max Verstappen as the clear culprit in the incident at the start of the race between the Dutchman and Piastri, with the Red Bull Racing driver also receiving some support.

After Piastri took the lead from his teammate Norris in the F1 championship with his win, along with Verstappen trailing Norris by two points in P3, Bild claims that the title fight 'is more exciting than it has been in a long time.'

"But the momentum is on Piastri's side. The McLaren driver won the last two races and was on the podium in each of the last four Grands Prix," writes the German newspaper.

A clear verdict is also given on the incident between Verstappen and Piastri at turn 1: "Just because Verstappen braked later, the championship rivals raced parallel through the turn. But: Verstappen could not keep his Red Bull on the track due to the high speed and cut the corner."

La Gazzetta saw an aggressive Verstappen at the start and states it was a signature move from the Dutchman: "Max Verstappen, starting from pole position in the night of Saudi Arabia, finished the Grand Prix in second place after an aggressive start against Oscar Piastri, costing him a five-second penalty," writes the Italian newspaper.

"Piastri defeated the seemingly unbeatable Max Verstappen and is the new leader in Formula 1, having added Saudi Arabia to his ever-growing list of achievements," begins Marca, praising the race winner.

"Piastri was aggressive, he squeezed Max, and Verstappen had no choice but to go wide," writes the Spanish newspaper, which does not directly blame Verstappen for the following incident.

The Guardian also saw a championship-worthy performance from Piastri: "Maintaining focus and balance under pressure has always been one of the hallmarks of the greatest Formula 1 drivers, and Oscar Piastri demonstrates this with remarkable certainty for someone so young. His victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he defeated world champion Max Verstappen, was a prime example of the calm and confidence of the 24-year-old – and of his potential to take the title in only his third season," writes the British newspaper.

According to The Guardian, it was clear who was at fault in the start-line incident and Red Bull would have been better off giving up the position: "Verstappen and Red Bull were indignant about the penalty, but might wonder if it would have been better to have Verstappen immediately give the position back, rather than taking the risk of a penalty. Anyway, it did not seem that he had the pace to beat Piastri over the entire race."