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At the start of the season, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix consisted of a series of two rounds, which were held according to the schedule of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The organizers wanted to complete them before the start of the month of Ramadan. And while the schedule proved to be inconvenient for fans working on Thursdays and Fridays, the schedule was moved to the evening to reduce the number of these inconveniences, and in the future it will be offered as an option.
Just like a year ago, Max Verstappen led confidently all weekend, and although there was the illusion of a close battle on Thursday, he improved on the decisive lap of the final qualifying session – leaving no chance for his rivals .
As the weekend progressed, Ferrari made an unexpected change. On Wednesday, Carlos Sainz did not come to the meeting with the press due to poor health, on Thursday he completed two training sessions and hoped to recover on Friday, but was hospitalized due to appendicitis.
There were no other reserve pilots – Schwartzman and Giovinazzi – in Jeddah, but there was Oliver Berman, who competed in Formula 2. He was called to replace him. The 18-year-old Berman became the youngest driver to drive for Ferrari in a Formula 1 race and chose number 38.
Pirelli brought three “medium” compositions to the stage: C2, C3 and C4 in the roles Hard, Medium and Soft. There was little wear and tear. In the race, Berman and Bottas started on Soft, the rest on Medium.
Before the start there were problems with the gearbox in Gasly’s car, but he took his place.
Verstappen retained his lead at the start. Perez attacked Leclerc for second place, but Charles stayed ahead. Stroll overtook Tsunoda, Gasly rolled back and left the race. Piastri overtook Alonso.
Top ten in round 2: Verstappen – Leclerc – Perez – Piastri – Alonso – Norris – Russell – Hamilton – Stroll – Tsunoda.
On lap 4 Perez passed Leclerc for second place.
On lap 7, Stroll hit the wall, broke his suspension and crashed his car in Turn 22. The safety car came out.
Everyone except Norris, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Zhou changed their tires.
Top ten for safety car: Norris – Verstappen – Hamilton – Perez – Leclerc – Piastri – Alonso – Hulkenberg – Russell – Zhou.
On the 10th lap the safety car turned into the pit lane and the drivers were able to continue the battle. Magnussen and Ocon preceded Albon. Berman passed Tsunoda for 11th place.
On the 13th lap, Verstappen overtook Norris to lead the race, Perez overtook Hamilton in the battle for third place. Magnussen complained about problems with the underside.
On lap 14, Russell passed Hulkenberg and Berman passed Zhou.
On lap 15 Leclerc overtook Hamilton.
Top ten in round 15: Verstappen – Norris – Perez – Leclerc – Hamilton – Piastri – Alonso – Russell – Hulkenberg – Berman.
Perez was given a five-second time penalty for leaving the pits unsafely during a pit stop – he was released just ahead of Alonso. Magnussen – 10 second penalty for a collision with Albon on the restart in turn four.
On lap 17, Magnussen passed Tsunoda for 12th place. Kevin drove off the track and did not regain position and was given a further 10 second time penalty.
On lap 18, Perez overtook Norris for second place.
On lap 21, Berman passed Hulkenberg for ninth place.
On lap 27, Leclerc overtook Norris for third place.
A large group of riders gathered behind Magnussen. Kevin actively defended himself and behind him there was a stubborn fight.
Top ten in round 30: Verstappen – Perez – Leclerc – Norris – Hamilton – Piastri – Alonso – Russell – Berman – Hulkenberg.
On lap 34, Albon passed Tsunoda for 14th place.
Hulkenberg changed the tires on lap 34 and returned to the track ahead of Magnussen, who kept his rivals at bay.
On lap 35, Piastri was ahead of Hamilton, but cut the corner and regained the position.
On the 37th lap Bottas and Hamilton made a pit stop, on the 38th – Norris – there was a small problem when replacing the right rear wheel.
Norris pulled away from Hamilton, Lewis attacked – Lando moved several times on the straight – and was warned with a black and white flag.
On the 42nd lap, Zhou was the last to change the tires – there was a delay in attaching the right front wheel.
Top ten in lap 41: Verstappen – Perez – Leclerc – Piastri – Alonso – Russell – Berman – Norris – Hamilton – Hulkenberg.
On lap 44, Albon passed Ocon for 12th place.
On the 50th lap, Ricciardo spun in the first corner with no consequences for the car.
Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, taking his second victory of the season, his ninth in a row and the 56th of his career, reaching the podium for the 100th time.
Sergio Perez finished second – Red Bull Racing achieved its 30th victory double. Charles Leclerc climbed to the third step of the podium and left the best lap behind him.
The battle continues in Australia in two weeks.
Race results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Pete |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:20:43,273 | 229,270 | 1 |
| 2. C. Perez* | Red Bull | +13,643 | 228,626 | 1 |
| 3. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | +18.639 | 228,391 | 1 |
| 4. O. Piastri | McLaren | +32.007 | 227,765 | 1 |
| 5. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | +35.759 | 227,590 | 1 |
| 6. D. Russell | Mercedes | +39.936 | 227,395 | 1 |
| 7. O. Berman | Ferrari | +42.679 | 227,267 | 1 |
| 8. L.Norris | McLaren | +45.708 | 227,127 | 1 |
| 9. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | +47.391 | 227,048 | 1 |
| 10. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | +76.996 | 225,682 | 1 |
| 11. A. Elbon | Williams | +88.354 | 225,163 | 1 |
| 12. K. Magnussen** | Hare | +105.737 | 224,372 | 1 |
| 13. E. Okon | Alps | +1 round | 224,495 | 1 |
| 14. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | +1 round | 224,425 | 1 |
| 15. L. Sargent | Williams | +1 round | 224,367 | 1 |
| 16. D. Ricciardo | RB | +1 round | 223,724 | 1 |
| 17. V. Bottas | Sauber | +1 round | 223,614 | 2 |
| 18. G.Zhou | Sauber | +1 round | 223,318 | 1 |
* – Perez received a five-second time penalty for leaving the pits unsafely during a pit stop.
** – Magnussen received a 10-second penalty for colliding with Albon and a further 10 seconds for leaving the track while overtaking and not returning to his position.
Reasons for the meetings
| Pilot | Team | Kroogov | Cause |
| P. Gasly | Alps | 1 | Transfer |
| L. Walk | Aston Martin | 5 | accident |
Best round: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:31.632 (50th lap, 242.561 km/h)
Championship Position: Individual Competition
Championship position: Constructors’ Championship
| Team | Engine | Glasses | |
| = | 1. Oracle Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT | 87 |
| = | 2. Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 49 |
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3. McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes | 28 |
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4. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team | Mercedes | 26 |
| = | 5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | Mercedes | 13 |
| = | 6. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Ferrari | 1 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
