Oscar Piastri causes stir at Saudi Grand Prix with hand gesture act

There has been drama at the Saudi Grand Prix with a Red Bull driver involved in a high speed crash and Oscar Piastri caught venting his frustration.

Oscar Piastri let his frustrations be known as his McLaren team pulled off a 1-2 finish in the second free practice session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday morning.

Championship leader Lando Norris topped the timesheets in a session that included a high speed crash by Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.

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Piastri was 0.10 seconds behind his teammate, but it was an earlier moment involving the Australian that has caused a stir.

The Bahrain Grand Prix winner was in a mood before he even got out onto the track to start the FP2 session when he was cut off by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg as the cars were heading out onto track.

You can watch Piastri’s sassy gesture in the vido player above.

Piastri and Norris had parked their McLarens in the pit lane line waiting for the green light when Hulkenberg cheekily cut in between, leaving Piastri less than happy.

The Victorian responded to Hulkenberg by giving him a sarcastic thumbs up and an even more sarcastic message on his team’s radio.

“Oh dear. Sauber did a great job there,” he said.

Oscar Piastri gives Nico Hulkenberg the thumbs up. Photo: YouTube, F1.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 13: Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on April 13, 2025 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

One of Piastri’s largest fan accounts on social media shared the footage on X with a caption: “HIS THUMBS UP. I CAN’T BREATH.”

Elsewhere, Norris needed to draw a line in the sand after his struggles at the Bahrain Grand Prix last week and he responded with a flying performance on Saturday.

The Briton showed he is back on track in the night run at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Piastri arrived at the Red Sea track on a high, after his second win of the season in Sakhir moved him to second, three points behind Norris, in the fledgling world championship standings.

In contrast, Norris, winner of the season-opener in Melbourne, was out of sorts in qualifying in Bahrain and in the race itself, doing well in the circumstances to make the podium.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull had a rough time in Bahrain, the four-time world champion only finishing sixth, sparking crisis talks in the team on how to improve their car.

The Dutchman, a winner in Jeddah last year and 2022, posted the third quickest time, almost three tenths of a second behind. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’ Carlos Sainz completed the top five.

The session began with one driver missing.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber developed a fuel leak before the session began forcing the Brazilian out.

That was not helpful for the rookie, as it robbed him of a crucial run out in evening race conditions under the floodlights.

Red Bull mechanics will be hard at it to get the driver back on track for qualifying. AP Photo/Darko Bandic.

Yuki Tsunoda sent debris flying. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.

In the early stages, with the track as busy as downtown rush hour in Jeddah, Lance Stroll came to an unscripted stop at turn one, the Canadian locking up his Aston Martin prompting a brief yellow flag.

Norris, eager to find his McLaren’s ‘sweet spot’ after admitting to struggling to unlock the full potential of his 2025 car, held early sway, but only by a mere one thousandth of a second from his teammate and main championship rival Piastri.

Pierre Gasly, the star of opening practice in the bright afternoon sunshine, complained about brake issues on his Alpine, which forced the Frenchman to pit.

Leclerc then took charge briefly in his Ferrari by a tenth of a second.

Midway through the one hour of action, Verstappen upped the tempo, the Dutchman going almost four tenths clear of Sainz, who this time last year was struggling with appendicitis which was to rule him out of the 2024 race.

Then, in a sign of the fierce battle Red Bull face against the generally faster McLarens, Piastri, riding the kerbs, bettered Verstappen’s time, only for Norris to go even quicker A series of drivers brushed the walls that line the fast, purpose built street circuit.

One was Tsunoda, who crashed into the barrier at the final corner to bring out the red flag in the closing 10 minutes, leaving the Red Bull mechanics with work to do to repair his heavily dented car.

That ruined what had been a good day for the Japanese driver in his third race since succeeding Liam Lawson as Verstappen’s teammate.

“Sorry guys,” he said on the team radio having posted the sixth quickest time. “I was just turning too much, no control, it’s a shame. My confidence level was pretty good,” he added later.

Lewis Hamilton faces a potential penalty. Stewards are investigating the Ferrari driver for impeding Alex Albon’s Williams.

Final practice is on Saturday afternoon ahead of night-time qualifying for this fifth round of the 24-race season.

— with AFP

Originally published as Oscar Piastri causes stir at Saudi Grand Prix with hand gesture act