F1: Max Verstappen still a notch above, wins in Saudi Arabia ahead of Pérez and Leclerc
|Encore un cavalier seul pour le Batave. EPA – ALI HAIDER
Le Néerlandais Max Verstappen (Red Bull) a remporté sans trembler le Grand Prix d'Arabie saoudite, deuxième manche sur 24 de la saison de Formule 1, samedi sur le circuit urbain de Jeddah.
The three-time reigning world champion, who started from pole position, scored the 56th victory of his career, the ninth in a row, and beat his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez, like last weekend in Bahrain .
Despite the turmoil that has shaken the team behind the scenes for a month and the start of the Christian Horner affair, cleared of the accusations of " ;inappropriate behavior" uttered by an employee, who was suspended, Red Bull confirmed its overwhelming superiority on the fast Saudi track by achieving a second double in two races.
Alpine still in the tough
Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who shared the first row with Verstappen, took third place, almost 20 seconds behind Verstappen. He also snatched the point for the fastest lap in the race at the last minute during his last loop. His young British teammate Oliver Bearman, who had to replace at short notice the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was operated on for appendicitis on Friday, took a superb seventh place for his first Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The Briton, who started in 11th position on Saturday, became at 18 years 10 months and 1 day the third youngest driver in history to take part in an F1 Grand Prix. Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished the race just off the podium, far ahead of his British teammate Lando Norris, only eighth.
Nouveau doublé pour Red Bull 💥
Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso dans le TOP 5 🔝
Bearman termine la course à la 7e place 🤯#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UwVJm20RSL— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 9, 2024
Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) took fifth place, ahead of Briton George Russell (Mercedes), while the Top 10 was completed by seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes ) and the surprising German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas).
On the French side, there was no miracle for Alpine: the race started very badly since Pierre Gasly had to retire on the first lap due to gearbox problems, while Esteban Ocon, who started in 17th position, finished 13th.