British media wax lyrical about championship leader Piastri while also discussing Verstappen's incident

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw Oscar Piastri take the championship lead, with the British media very impressed by the calm and collected nature of the Australian.

A third win in five races for Piastri meant he overtook teammate Lando Norris in the title battle, showing why he should be included in the championship talk for this season.

Along with this, the British media also threw their hat into the ring regarding the turn one incident between Piastri and Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman receiving a five-second penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage.

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The Times

British newspaper The Times heaped all the praise on Piastri after a fine drive around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit: "Even a first-corner battle with the famously feisty Max Verstappen could not raise the temperature of Oscar Piastri, the cool, calm and collected new championship leader."

The unflappable nature of the Australian is something that can guide him well in the title battle, with The Times pointing out his impressive race craft, too.

"He may not have the raw speed of the reigning world champion over one lap, but he is inherently confident in the car underneath him and knew his chance would come in this 50-lap race," continued the paper.

Sky Sports

The Piastri praise continued to roll in throughout the media in the UK, with Sky Sports the next to be seriously wowed by the new championship leader.

"Piastri never relinquished his advantage over Verstappen thereafter, and the impressive Australian won by three seconds for his second win in as many weeks and his third victory in five races this season, giving him a maiden lead of the Drivers' Championship over team-mate Lando Norris," said the British broadcaster.

They also had their say in the matter regarding Verstappen and Piastri that changed the race: "Front-row starters Verstappen and Piastri went wheel-to-wheel into the Jeddah street track's first corner but stewards soon issued the Red Bull driver with the costly time sanction after judging he had unfairly cut the chicane to stay ahead of the faster-starting McLaren driver."

The Guardian

From the international media earlier on, 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, there was also a clear indication as to who was at fault at the start, with Verstappen being better off if he had given up the position straight away.

"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."

BBC

The BBC also had their say on the incident that chamged the complexion of the race, with the British broadcaster also agreeing with the decsions made by the stewards in Jeddah

"Verstappen hung it out around the outside, cut the chicane and retained the lead on the exit. He claimed that Piastri had forced him off, but the stewards disagreed and gave the Dutchman his penalty, which he served at his pit stop," said the broadcaster.