Max Verstappen, starting on the pole, cruised to a dominant win in the STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix under the lights on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday (March 9), further widening his advantage over a Formula 1 field that appears to have no idea how to close that gap. It was Verstappen’s ninth consecutive victory and 56th in his career.
Verstappen took the checkered flag over 13 seconds ahead of 2023 Saudi winner Sergio Perez, with Charles Leclerc joining them on the podium. Oscar Piastri finished fourth, followed by Fernando Alonso and George Russell. The surprising story of the day was rookie Oliver Bearman, who finished seventh, subbing for Carlos Sainz, who was stricken with appendicitis on Friday. Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton for eighth, while Nico Hulkenberg, with lots of help from Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen, grabbed 10th.
“Overall, of course a fantastic weekend for the whole team but also for myself,” Verstappen said. “I felt really good in the car.
“We had good pace all around and we could manage it quite well with the gap also. Overall I’m very, very pleased.”
In the driver standings, the top two remains unchanged, with Verstappen leading with 51 points, followed by Perez in second with 36. Leclerc is third with 28 points.
In the constructor standings, Red Bull leads with 87, followed by Ferrari with 49. McLaren jumped Mercedes for third, and holds third with 28 points, two ahead of Mercedes.
The Race
Verstappen was off well at lights out, unchallenged from Leclerc in P2, who was occupied fending off Perez’s Red Bull. Leclerc held on to second and Verstappen began to pull away as Leclerc and Perez dueled for second.
Norris appeared to have jumped the start, as noted by Russell, but stewards investigated and deemed Norris’ start legitimate.
Pierre Gasly had to retire his Alpine before even one lap was completed after experiencing gearbox issues throughout the formation lap.
Piastri got by Alonso on lap 2 for fourth, one of the few changes in the top 10 thus far in the race. Bearman, in the Ferrari in place of Sainz, continued an ongoing battle with Yuki Tsunoda for 10th.
Verstappen was quickly over two seconds ahead by lap 4. Perez slipped by Leclerc on the same lap, and Red Bull was running 1-2 and looked again to be invincible, although the race was still very young.
Verstappen set a fastest lap on lap five as he extended the gap to Perez to 2.5 seconds….
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