Passed by Fernando Alonso at the start, Sergio Pérez quickly took control of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to win ahead of Max Verstappen, author of a good comeback, and George Russell, who took advantage of a late penalty for Fernando Alonso.
This time, Sergio Pérez was able to convert his pole position into victory on the Jeddah Corniche! A year after being trapped by the safety car while dominating the proceedings eventually won by Max Verstappen, the Mexican enjoyed a virtually calm Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to seek the fifth victory of his career, he who did not hadn’t known this honor since Singapore last season. The only real moment of concern for the Red Bull Racing driver was at the start, when Fernando Alonso, author of a better impulse like a lion, took control of the race at the first corner.
But the vastly superior pace and top speed of the RB19 compared to the Spaniard’s Aston Martin did not allow the double world champion to hope for long. From the fourth lap, with the help of the DRS, Sergio Pérez took control of the Grand Prix never to let go. Shortly before, Fernando Alonso received a five-second penalty for an irregular starting grid position, similar to what happened to Esteban Ocon in Bahrain at the start of the season. Behind the leading duo, the positions have changed little, with Lewis Hamilton who paid for his start on hard tires with the loss of a place against the Alpine driver.
Stroll caused the only burst of the race
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, bet on the offensive with soft tires to start and the Monegasque took advantage of this to move up to sixth position on the 13th lap. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, did not take the slightest risk in the first loops, remaining in his fifteenth place. However, the reigning world champion very quickly increased the pace and chained overtaking. Guanyu Zhou, Pierre Gasly, Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon couldn’t cope with the Dutchman’s incredible top speed. The latter could even have offered Charles Leclerc at the start of the 17th lap if the Monegasque had not decided to dive into the pits at the same time to put on hard tires and go to the finish.
While Oscar Piastri had to go through the pits on the first lap to change front wing following contact with Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll was the first to veer towards the pits on the regular lap 14, trapped by Ferrari who had pretended to bring in Carlos Sainz Jr. However, the Canadian’s race stopped at the edge of the track four laps later due to a concern for recovering energy. The safety car was immediately deployed and caused the leaders to stop in the pit. Fernando Alonso then served his penalty without losing position to George Russell and Max Verstappen.
Verstappen with a bang but powerless against Pérez
However, during the restart three laps later, the Spaniard was trapped by Sergio Pérez and had to defend manly against George Russell when Lewis Hamilton, the only driver on medium tires in the Top 5, easily outplayed Carlos Sainz Jr for fifth place. Unleashed, Max Verstappen didn’t take long to overtake George Russell then Fernando Alonso to settle in second place halfway through the race. The battle at a distance between the two Red Bull Racing drivers raged with the best lap in the race but the gap remained generally stable, between four and five seconds.
Behind, in the fight for a meager sixth place, Charles Leclerc complained about the pace of Carlos Sainz Jr but the positions did not change. On the side of Red Bull Racing, after the problems seen in qualifying, caution was in order with Max Verstappen who complained of a too abrupt transmission while Sergio Pérez noted a brake pedal becoming too long. The stand then tried to slow down the Mexican who, sensing a dirty trick coming, did not comply. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, worried about the fastest lap in the race with his engineer trying to calm him down. But the Dutchman never gave up on the idea and waited for the last lap.
Alonso saw his 100th podium escape him
While Sergio Pérez ensured to win the race, Max Verstappen gave everything to snatch the bonus point with serious consequences from a championship point of view. For third place, Fernando Alonso did not hesitate to raise his voice to put a little more than five seconds gap with George Russell in case a penalty should fall at the end of the race. Fears from the Aston Martin stand were confirmed shortly after the finish. The Asturian received a ten-second penalty because the initial penalty was not carried out correctly, which gives the Mercedes driver a podium and deprives him of his 100th career Top 3.
Fernando Alonso saves fourth place by three tenths of a second against Lewis Hamilton. At Ferrari, the results will be more than mixed with sixth and seventh place for Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc just ahead of the two Alpines. After a solid race, Esteban Ocon finished eighth ahead of Pierre Gasly. The point for tenth place was snatched by Kevin Magnussen in the final laps against Yuki Tsunoda. In the championship, while Red Bull Racing confirms its dominance among the manufacturers, only the fastest lap point allows Max Verstappen to overtake Sergio Pérez among the drivers. A duel that will start again in Melbourne, conclusion of this start to the overseas season.
