Red Bull powered to their second 1-2 finish of the year, as Sergio Perez overcame a subpar start to win on Jeddah’s 3.8-mile street circuit while a timely safety car helped Max Verstappen to a runner-up finish after starting 15th. Fernando Alonso’s third-place result was relegated to fourth after two penalties knocked him off the podium, only to be reinstated back to third hours later after a review.
George Russell finished fourth and Lewis Hamilton took fifth, while Carlos Sainz‘s and Charles Leclerc‘s high hopes for Ferrari were dashed by a disappointing sixth and seventh, respectively.
A strong Alpine effort saw Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly place eighth and ninth, while Kevin Magnussen used a late pass of Yuki Tsunoda to take the final points-paying position.
Verstappen started 15th on the grid after his driveshaft broke at the beginning of Q2 on Saturday (March 18), leaving him unable to post a time. Teammate Perez pounced on the pole, 0.155 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc, who vacated that spot due to a grid penalty for a power unit change.
Verstappen leads Perez by a single point in the drivers’ standings (44 to 43) with Alonso right behind the Red Bull duo with 27 points; Red Bull boasts a healthy 46-point lead over Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.
The Race
Perez got off the line sluggishly, allowing Alonso to easily pass for the lead in turn 1. Just behind them, Russell dutifully maintained third place. Lance Stroll bested Sainz in the Ferrari, giving Aston Martin the first and third positions. Hamilton kept seventh despite starting on hard tires.
Alonso was subsequently issued a five-second penalty for starting too far left on the grid. Shortly thereafter, Perez zipped by Alonso for the lead on lap 4, aided by DRS into turn 1.
Perez set a fastest lap on lap 8 and built a two-second lead over Alonso by lap 11 while Alonso’s team advised him that the one-stop strategy was still on despite the looming penalty.
Leclerc eased past Hamilton on lap 9, as the Mercedes veteran lamented his lack of grip. Verstappen passed Hamilton for eighth on lap 12 and began eyeballing Leclerc and Esteban Ocon for seventh. Verstappen overtook Ocon on lap 14 and moved past Leclerc when the Ferrari pitted.
Stroll was the first to make a scheduled stop on lap 14. Ferrari then advised Sainz to come in, but the Spaniard stayed out, as the Prancing Horse played a little strategy…
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