REPORT: Two races, two 1-2s for Red Bull after Saudi Arabia stroll

Max Verstappen won the opening two races of a season for the first time in his Formula 1® career, Red Bull Racing’s reigning world champion converting from pole position to stroll to a second win in Jeddah in Saturday night’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman took his 100th career podium with his ninth straight victory, becoming one of just seven drivers in the sport’s history to hit the century mark in his latest dominant display that has seen him win 19 of the past 20 races.

Like the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix seven days earlier, it was a double celebration for Red Bull on track in a time of off-track turmoil and controversy, Sergio Perez overcoming a five-second penalty for an unsafe release at his sole pit stop of the race to finish second, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounding out the rostrum.

Verstappen repelled front-row starter Leclerc into the first corner off the start and quickly cleared away, but the race was neutralised with a safety car after just six laps when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed out. In the resultant pit-lane chaos, Perez was released into the path of Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso, and was hit with a penalty.

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Verstappen quickly reassumed control from lap 13 when he passed McLaren’s Lando Norris – who had yet to pit – for the lead, and won by 13.643secs from Perez once the Mexican’s penalty was applied, Leclerc finishing a further five seconds back.

After all 20 drivers finished in Bahrain last weekend, Stroll – along with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (gearbox) became the first retirements of the season, Gasly out of the race after just one lap.

Further back, Nico Hulkenberg scored the first points for Haas in nine races by finishing 10th, the first top-10 result for new team boss Ayao Komatsu, who took over from Guenther Steiner in the off-season.

Aussie watch

Oscar Piastri moved inside the top five in the drivers’ championship standings for the first time in his career after an assured run to fourth for McLaren in Jeddah, moving past Alonso (fourth on the grid) two laps into the 50-lap race and scoring 12 points to add to his four earned in Bahrain a week earlier.

Piastri spent nearly half the race stuck behind Lewis Hamilton after the seven-time world champion ran a longer first stint of the race, but Piastri didn’t feel being bottled up behind the Mercedes affected his overall result, admitting Red Bull and Ferrari had McLaren’s measure on the sweeping Saudi track.

Piastri’s compatriot Daniel Ricciardo had a much tougher time in Jeddah, the RB driver qualifying 14th and finishing 16th after being delayed in his pit stop as 14 of the 18 drivers all pitted at the same time after Stroll’s crash.

A late-race spin at Turn 2 didn’t cost Ricciardo position, but continued a frustrating run for the RB team after neither the 34-year-old nor teammate Yuki Tsunoda (14th) scored for the second race running.

Unsung hero

Oliver Bearman was the talk of the Saudi Arabia paddock on Saturday night, the British teenager finishing seventh on his F1® debut for Ferrari after deputising for Carlos Sainz, who missed the race with appendicitis.

Bearman, the Ferrari Academy driver who had qualified on pole for the Formula 2 feature race in Jeddah on Thursday, was told he’d be standing in for Sainz just ahead of final practice on Friday, and qualified in 11th place, just missing Q3.

The 18-year-old was composed in a baptism of fire at one of the sport’s most unrelenting street tracks, and had enough pace in reserve to hold off compatriots Norris and Hamilton – both of whom ran on soft tyres at the end – for a memorable debut.

Bearman’s standout drive, which earned him Driver of the Day honours from the sport’s fans, made Saudi Arabia the first time in 24 years that four British drivers finished in the top 10, with George Russell (sixth), Norris (eighth) and Hamilton (ninth) also in the points. The last time four Brits finished in the top 10 was Japan 2000 (David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine).

Number to know

19: Verstappen’s 19th victory in the past 20 races means he has both set (10 wins) and matched (nine, with Sebastian Vettel from 2013) the sport’s two longest-ever winning streaks in the past 20 Grands Prix alone.

Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: top 10

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 20mins 43.273secs
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +13.643secs
   
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +18.639secs
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +32.007secs
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +35.759secs
6. George Russell (Mercedes) +39.936secs
7. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari) +42.679secs
8. Lando Norris (McLaren) +45.708secs
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +47.391secs
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +76.996secs
    
    

Standings (top 5)

Drivers' championship

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 51 points
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 36
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 28
4. George Russell (Mercedes) 18
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 16
   
   

Constructors' championship

• Red Bull Racing (87 points)
• Ferrari (49)
• McLaren (28)
• Mercedes (26)
• Aston Martin (13)

Next race

Round 3: Australia, Albert Park (Mar 21-24)