Piastri's mother worried about Oscar: 'That moment against Verstappen was horrifying'

Starting from second place on the grid, the Australian got off to a better start than Verstappen, and went down the inside of the Red Bull driver into Turn 1.

After Verstappen opted for cutting the corner, he received a five-second time penalty by the stewards.

Piastri's mother, Nicole, was of course very much worried about her son. "I kinda wish Oscar wouldn't hold his ground with someone like Max Verstappen. That was horrifying, to be honest. But that's what he does and he will continue to do that," she told 4BC Radio.

Nicole often comments to happenings in the competition on social media, even as it's often late by the time on-track action begins in Australia. "It's just the risk, and it's not so much Oscar, it's people around him. There is no sleeping when Oscar is racing at 300 kilometres per hour."

She also sees her son to be a clever driver. "He's very cautious by nature, and he's very calculated and clever in the way that he does everything."

"Typically, he won't take risks. But you can't trust that those around him won't miss. You just can't trust that those around him won't take risks. As we saw with Lando, a tiny mistake can be really dangerous. They are only human," she explained.

So far in the 2025 season, the McLaren driver has won three Grands Prix, claimed two pole positions, and leads the drivers' standings. For his mother, that's not the most important thing.

"It's nice that [Oscar's] doing well but my priority is just that he finishes the race and gets out of the car and walks away. If he finishes well that is just a bonus," she concluded.

Defending world champion Max Verstappen also praised the Australian after the race in Jeddah, saying that the McLaren driver has what it takes to be a contender for the world title.