Saudi Arabian GP - Race

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STC Saudi Arabian GP

Race

Mar 9, 2024

Red Bull secures victory in Saudi GP with Verstappen taking first place, followed by Perez in second position.

In Saudi Arabia during the second race of the 2024 Formula One season, Max Verstappen once again showcased his impressive performance by leading his Red Bull team to another one-two finish.

Despite facing internal challenges within Red Bull, Verstappen's superiority was evident as he secured his ninth consecutive victory and the 56th of his career.

Verstappen briefly lost his lead due to an early safety car deployment following Lance Stroll's crash at Turn 23, which necessitated a pit stop. This allowed McLaren's Lando Norris to briefly take the lead. Nevertheless, this setback did not impede Verstappen's comfortable path to victory.

"I think overall it was a fantastic weekend, for the whole team but also for me," Verstappen commented following the race. "I felt really good with the car in qualifying and it was basically the same in the race."

Sergio Perez, Verstappen's teammate, moved up to second place by lap four, briefly dropped to fourth position under the safety car, but reclaimed second place by lap 18.

On lap six, Stroll hit the inside of Turn 22 at a speed of 160mph, causing his front left suspension to break and sending him crashing into the barriers on the inside of Turn 23.

Although the Aston Martin driver emerged unscathed from the incident, he missed out on a potential points finish due to the error.

Charles Leclerc secured third place for Ferrari and also set the fastest lap, but he never posed a serious threat to the Red Bulls.

Despite carrying a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit stop release, Perez managed to

maintain an 18.6-second lead over the Ferrari at the end, comfortably securing second place.

"We had quite a good pace because we had the fastest lap at the end and I got a bit helped by having DRS," Leclerc said. "But overall the feeling was pretty good, it was a bit of a boring race because Red Bull were a bit too quick and behind we had a bit of a gap, but we took the maximum points we could today and that is the target."

The attention during the race was largely on Oliver Bearman, who stepped in as a replacement teammate for Leclerc, as regular Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz had to sit out due to appendicitis following Thursday's practice.

Despite starting in 11th place on the grid, 18-year-old Bearman managed to secure seventh place by fending off Norris and Hamilton in the last ten laps of the race.

As their teams opted not to pit them during the early safety car period, Norris and Hamilton found themselves engaged in a heated competition towards the end.

During the intense battle, Norris received a warning for his weaving while braking in front of Hamilton, which allowed Bearman to extend the gap and secure six points in his debut F1 race.

Oscar Piastri claimed fourth place for McLaren by passing Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin on the second lap of the race. Alonso then finished fifth, ahead of Russell who had a relatively uneventful race to sixth.

Nico Hulkenberg secured the final point for Haas, highlighting the unexpectedly strong start the American team had to the season.

Similar to Norris and Hamilton, Hulkenberg chose not to pit during the early safety car period and was assisted by teammate Kevin Magnussen, who managed to hold off a group of Hulkenberg's competitors for tenth place by slowing them down on the track.

Although Magnussen crossed the finish line in 11th place, he was carrying a 20-second penalty for infractions earlier in the race.

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Saudi Arabian GP 2024 F1 Race Results

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (1:20:43.273)

2. Sergio Pérez, Red Bull (+13.643)

3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (+18.639)

4. Oscar Piastri, McLaren (+32.007)

5. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin (+35.759)

6. George Russell, Mercedes (+39.936)

7. Oliver Bearman, Ferrari (+42.679)

8. Lando Norris, McLaren ( (+45.708)

9. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (+47.391)

10. Nico Hülkenberg, Haas (+1:16.996)

11. Alexander Albon, Williams (+1:28.354)

12. Kevin Magnussen, Haas (+1:45.737)

13. Esteban Ocon, Alpine (+1 Laps)

14. Logan Sargeant, Williams (+1 Laps)

15. Yuki Tsunoda, RB (+1 Laps)

16. Daniel Ricciardo, RB (+1 Laps)

17. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber (+1 Laps)

18. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber (+1 Laps)

19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (+45 Laps)

20. Pierre Gasly, Alpine (+49 Laps)