Saudi Arabian GP Results: What Happened In The Race?

Your Sports Illustrated report of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The second Grand Prix of 2023 is over and Red Bull has dominated once again with Sergio Perez bringing home an impressive P1 followed by Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso. "Wicked! Nice job guys, excellent result for the team," Checo shouts down the radio. His teammate wins driver of the day. 

The Spaniard now has 100 podiums to his name, making him a centurion of the sport. 

UPDATE

Due to the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso being touched by an engineer before his 5-second penalty was up, he has lost his P3 podium to Mercedes' George Russell. 

Standout Moments

With Max Verstappen starting P15, all eyes were on his start as he readied the Red Bull RB19 missile for attack before the tight first corner. Charles Leclerc started the race on soft tyres - a grade that proved itself during practice yesterday, and Fernando Alonso looked ready to preserve his P2 position. Lewis Hamilton sat on the grid with hard tyres, an interesting choice. 

The first corner was a disruptor, with Alonso taking the lead from Perez but quickly receiving a penalty of 5 seconds thanks to a wrong starting position on the grid. "Copy," the Spaniard simply says.

Oscar Piastri immediately received damage on his McLaren losing the endplate to his front wing, forcing him to pit immediately leaving him 19th, only in front of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. In this time, Max Verstappen gained two places.

It only took four laps for Perez to take the lead over the Aston Martin, who didn't put up a fight against the incredibly potent Bull. 

Leclerc was quick to overtake Hamilton who received a warning for weaving on the straight and was complaining about the hard compound tyres - yet another issue in the Mercedes camp. 

Valtteri Bottas was the first to pit just for tyres, coming back on hard compounds in P19, just as Verstappen started planning an attack on Hamilton. He gained quickly in the Red Bull which almost looks effortless on its overtake on the home straight under DRS. 

Lap 18 saw Lance Stroll pull over with his Aston Martin coming to a stop, with its front brakes quickly being covered with foam to stop them from overheating. This triggered a safety car, although the car was completely off the track. 

Cars pitted during the safety car window, with Lewis Hamilton swapping his hards for mediums - a bit of luck for the number 44 driver who was able to push forward into P5 with more performance due to better traction. Verstappen then recovers P3 from George Russell with the potent DRS of the Red Bull, followed quickly by a move into P2.

Alex Albon complained of brake failure and slowly cruised his Williams back to the pits after missing his first opportunity and retiring from the race. This allowed teammate Logan Sargeant to move up, closer to the points in P13.

With just over ten laps left, Verstappen's voice wobbles down the radio as he worries about vibrations coming from the driveshaft. With the team looking into data, Perez then radios through about a long brake pedal. There was worry from the Red Bull camp, but their pace didn't seem to be affected. At the same time, Russell complained about feeling vibrations from his Silver Arrow. 

The end of the race saw a potential 5-second penalty for Fernando Alonso, and while Aston expected them to be okay, pundits are unsure as to where this is going. 

Conclusion

I expected this race to be a bit more dramatic than it was. It was good to see Verstappen push his way up the grid, but when the majority of his overtakes are all under DRS on the straights, it takes away from the racing to an extent. 

What an amazing race from Alonso who once again showed what he and the car were capable of, but very unfortunate for his teammate Lance Stroll who retired not long into the race. And after so much negativity, who expected Mercedes to be so far up the grid in P4 and P5. 

Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Results

1. Sergio Perez
2. Max Verstappen
3. George Russell
4. Fernando Alonso
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Esteban Ocon
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Yuki Tsunoda 
12. Nico Hulkenberg
13. Zhou Guanyu
14. Nyck de Vries
15. Oscar Piatri
16. Logan Sargeant
17. Lando Norris
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Alex Albon
20. Lance Stroll