Max Verstappen without rival at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another double for Red Bull

Second victory in two races. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won again Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Saturday March 9, in front of the Mexican Sergio Pérez, his teammate at Red Bull, and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). The three-time world champion retained his pole position advantage and led the race from the first lap.

The Red Bull driver was only relegated to second place for five laps, when the safety car entered the track following Lance Stroll’s accident on lap 7. The Canadian hit the inside wall in a corner, before being thrown onto the one on the outside. Max Verstappen took advantage of the incident to pit, before regaining his leading position on the 13th lap, after a brief handover with Lando Norris (McLaren).

Alpine still in difficulty

A week after his large inaugural victory in Sakhir, Bahrain Grand Prix, the Dutch driver continues to establish his supremacy in the paddock, despite the noxious climate which is plaguing his stable. A second historic success since the last driver to have won the first two races of the year was Sebastien Vettel in 2018, with Ferrari. The German finally finished second in the world championship, behind Lewis Hamilton.

In Jeddah, the French did not shine. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) was forced to retire in the second round, due to problems already reported by the French team during qualifying. His teammate, Esteban Ocon, finished in 13th place and is yet to score a point this season, following his 17th place in Bahrain the previous week.