Sergio Pérez successfully defended his lead position for the first time and triumphed at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday. This is a fifth Formula 1 triumph for the Mexican.
Fernando Alonso had warned him the day before, “in terms of pure speed, Red Bull is in another league”.
For his part, Max Verstappen showed patience and ignored his 15e starting position to finish second. The Dutchman attacked each opponent slowly and had the fastest lap of the day on Sunday.
Alonso and Aston Martin will be satisfied, since the Spanish driver climbed to the third step of the podium for a second race in as many attempts. The 41-year-old took first place early in the race, but his illegal grid position earned him a five-second penalty. It’s still a 100e career podium for Alonso.
Despite an encouraging start for Lance Stroll, the Quebecer saw his race quickly turn sour. He momentarily took the 4e rank, but a pit stop allowed the two Ferrari cars to style it. Then at 18e turn, on the team radio Stroll receives the order “stop the car, stop the car immediately”.
At the latest news, it would be his operating system that failed.
The two Mercedes cars, driven by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton respectively, took 4e and 5e place. The Scuderia followed with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on 6e and 7e rank.
More details will follow.