Max Verstappen takes Saudi Arabian GP after Leclerc battle

In a thrilling final few laps, Max Verstappen outduelled Charles Leclerc to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. After Red Bull’s disastrous outing last week, the win for the reigning world champion showed that they were back and in force.

It was the other Red Bull that started the race strong – Sergio Perez had the first pole of his career, and he extended a comfortable lead in the opening laps to the race. He pitted on lap 14, and then luck did not fall his way – as a result of crash by Nicholas Latifi and an early safety car, Verstappen, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were all able to pit and get by him, and he never really recovered, hanging onto a lonely fourth place for the rest of the race.

Leclerc had a perfect restart, and Verstappen could do little to challenge him as the Ferrari driver established a 1.5-second lead. But it was the result of a virtual safety car that changed things – Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo both retired on lap 35, and Valtteri Bottas a lap later. The safety period ended on lap 41 of 50, and the gap between Leclerc and Verstappen was now less than a second.

On lap 43, Verstappen briefly took the lead with DRS, before Leclerc took it right back. Cue an almost absurd battle in which both cars seemed to grind to a halt, breaking heavily to try and game the DRS overtaking zones to their advantage (this is something that the FIA may need to look at in future). At the end of lap 46 into 47, the two cars were together, another wheel-to-wheel battle, and Verstappen managed to pass with DRS. A collision between Lance Stroll and Alex Albon brought out the yellow flags, scuppering Leclerc’s best chance to overtake. The Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 0.5 seconds behind his rival, although he did take the bonus point for fastest lap.

Sainz came third, Perez held onto fourth, and Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top five. All of the drivers had somewhat lonely races, holding onto their positions and comfortably out of reach of each other. Esteban Ocon had some battles with his teammate Alonso – the former world champion had comfortably ousted Ocon and was enjoying a great race, but after his DNF, it was Ocon who picked up the sixth-place points. Kevin Magnussen continued the story of his comeback with a ninth-place finish for Haas, a silver lining after his teammate Mick Schumacher was ruled out of the race after a nasty crash during qualifying.

There wasn’t too much excitement further down the field, with the events of a dramatic qualifying session and the battle for the front failing to translate. It was a mixed day for Lewis Hamilton, who qualified in 16^th with pace issues (he started 15^th after Yuki Tsunoda’s car gave out before the race), and managed to fight his way up to sixth by lap 35. However, the virtual safety car came, and it closed the pit lane just before Hamilton could pit – he would have to wait until lap 42. He dropped back to 12^th, and eventually managed to salvage a point in tenth.

The real question – will Verstappen keep his momentum up, or will Ferrari drive to victory?

After the race, Verstappen said: “It was a really tough race but a good race. We were both battling hard at the front. We just tried to play the long game. They were really quick through corners and we were really quick on the straight.

“The tyres were wearing out quite quick. You could see by the end we had a little bit more pace. I tried to get by, it wasn’t easy, they were playing smart tricks in the last corner, but eventually I managed to get ahead. Even after that he was constantly in the DRS. Really happy we finally kick-started the season.”

Leclerc said: “It was not enough today. I really enjoyed that race, it was hard racing but fair! Every race should be like this. It was fun, I wanted to win today! We had two very different configurations with the Red Bulls. We were quite quick in the corner, but slow in straights. It was extremely difficult for me to cover Max in the straight. Max did a great job, it was a fun race.”

Sainz said: “It was a close call with Checo. I think he got a bit unlucky with the safety car but the rules are the rules. I was just ahead at the safety line, it was my position then. From then it was all about holding on to P3. The Red Bulls were super quick in the last 10 laps after the tyres cooled down, they were flying and putting pressure on us.

“For me this race was a bit of progress from Bahrain. I managed to find a bit more rhythm with the car. There are still some tenth to find but I think I will end up getting there.”

After a weekend off, we’ll be heading to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. Last time out in 2019, it was a Mercedes masterclass, but that feels an unlikely outcome in 2022. The real question – will Verstappen keep his momentum up, or will Ferrari drive to victory?

Drivers’ Championship

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (45)
2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (33)
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (25)
4. George Russell, Mercedes (22)
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (16)

Constructors’ Championship

1. Ferrari (78)
2. Mercedes (38)
3. Red Bull (37)