Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen continues winning start to the season with another dominant showing
Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position on Saturday, continuing Red Bull's dominant start to the Formula One season with a second one-two in as many races.
Sergio Perez finished second under the Jeddah Corniche floodlights, 13.643 seconds behind his triple world champion teammate, who now leads the standings by 15 points.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, setting the fastest lap on his way to his first podium of the season, but rookie stand-in teammate Oliver Bearman stole the show, finishing seventh and being named Driver of the Day.
Verstappen, who won 19 out of 22 races last year, had never won the first two races of a season before. He's also won 19 of the last 20.
"Overall, a fantastic weekend for the whole team and myself. I felt really good with the car and it was the same in the race," Verstappen said.
Verstappen's victory was his ninth in a row, dating back to Japan last September, and his 56th overall.
It was also his 100th career podium, and Red Bull's 115th win moved them ahead of Williams in fourth place on the all-time list.
"Max was clinical in his execution of that race," said team boss Christian Horner.
Bearman, making his F1 race debut at the age of 18 years and 305 days, started 11th as Ferrari's youngest rookie and was an impressive replacement for Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was sidelined by appendicitis.
The youngest British Formula One driver in history scored on his debut, becoming the 66th driver to do so since the championship began in 1950.
Sainz, who had surgery on Friday, was back on the track, walking gingerly, to watch his stand-in's incredible day of glory.
"Today he's been incredible," said Leclerc of Bearman. "It's hugely impressive and I'm sure he's extremely proud. Everybody has noticed how talented he is and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he's in F1."
Oscar Piastri finished fourth for McLaren, Fernando Alonso fifth for Aston Martin, and George Russell sixth for Mercedes, becoming the first of four British drivers to cross the finish line together.
Lando Norris of McLaren finished eighth, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton ninth for Mercedes, and Nico Hulkenberg took the final point for Haas, last year's bottom team.
The safety car was deployed on lap seven after Aston Martin's Lance Stroll collided with the wall and crashed into the barriers at Turn 22.
The Canadian escaped unharmed as all but four drivers, including Norris and Hamilton, went into the pits.
Norris, who was later cleared of a suspected jumped start off the grid, led when the new Aston Martin Vantage safety car returned to the pits on lap 9, but Verstappen regained the lead by lap 13 and pulled away.
Perez received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from his first pitstop, while Haas' Kevin Magnussen received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Williams' Alex Albon.
The Dane was later penalized another 10 seconds for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, but his primary role was to create a sufficient gap behind Hulkenberg so that the German could pit and still finish with a valuable point.
Alpine's Pierre Gasly was told to pit and park on the first lap due to a suspected gearbox problem, becoming the season's first retirement after all 20 cars completed the opening race in Bahrain a week earlier.
Red Bull now have 87 points, Ferrari 49, and McLaren 28. The next race is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 24th.
SportsLigue