The duel that has all Formula 1 fans salivating at the start of the season took place once again this Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After a breathless fight, punctuated by the use of DRS, Max Verstappen won with one breath in front of Charles Leclerc. The Dutchman offers revenge to Red Bull, which was completely planted during the inaugural Grand Prix, and proves that it will be necessary to count on him to compete with Ferrari, which also places Carlos Sainz on the podium.
Christian Horner’s team could have secured a simpler success if Sergio Perez had not had bad luck at the start of the race. Poleman for the first time in his career, the Mexican made a perfect start and seemed set to stay ahead after his first stop. But a crash by Nicholas Latifi, on lap 16 just after he had plunged into the pit lane, forced the intervention of the safety car and stuck the Red Bull driver in traffic. Hitherto in ambush, Leclerc took the opportunity to steal the lead of the Grand Prix.
The safety car changed everything
Without ever being threatened after the new flying start, the Monegasque then opened the track quietly, pursued by Verstappen. The pace of the Ferrari then left no chance for the Dutchman. There was only one option left to spice up the end of the race: that the safety car, again, invites itself once again to the party. Which was the case on the 37th lap, after Daniel Ricciardo broke down.
Left neck and neck with his rival, Verstappen was then able to place his first attacks on the leader. A long game of fools around the DRS then started: Leclerc defended his position very well on the first attacks but ended up cracking three laps from the end, deposited in a straight line. The new leader then held on until the end, despite a desperate offensive from the Monegasque, who still remains the broad leader of the championship. After his zero from Bahrain, the Dutchman scored his first points of the season.
Ocon 6e, Gasly 8e
Behind this mano a mano, Carlos Sainz secured third place by returning a clean copy, which embellishes Ferrari’s weekend, ahead of Perez. Behind the two untouchable teams at the start of the season, George Russell and his Mercedes took 5th place, ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine. On his Alpha Tauri, Pierre Gasly took an encouraging 8th place, while Lewis Hamilton, who had started at the back of the grid, could not do better than 10th.
The Grand Prix had started without two of the drivers. Victim of a serious accident the day before in qualifying, Mick Schumacher was not aligned at the start by Haas, even if he assured that he was “physically ready” to compete. As for Yuiki Tsunoda, he was deprived of the race for mechanical trouble. The two men will return to the paddock in two weeks, on the occasion of the Australian GP.