March 27, (THEWILL) – Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, late in the race to take the chequered flag and win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Following a Nicholas Latifi collision, Leclerc took advantage of a timely safety car to grab the lead ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who won his first pole position of the season on Saturday.
Leclerc then tried to stave off a late drive from Verstappen to win the season’s second race, but the Dutchman snatched victory after gaining the lead with only a few laps to go.
At the start, Verstappen showed his determination when he made a strong move, passing Carlos Sainz around the outside of Turn 2, while Perez held off Leclerc to keep the lead. The Ferraris had started to take the similar line, forcing Sainz to slow down on entrance to Turn 1, leaving room on the inside for the Dutchman.
George Russell put quite a strong showing in his Mercedes, and he got off to a flying start by passing Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for fifth. Russell held on to finish P5 thanks to a brilliant move by the Briton, who created an unusual opening down the inside of the final hairpin.
The early stages featured a spectacular struggle between Alpine colleagues Ocon and Fernando Alonso, with the Frenchman defending the two-time world champion exceedingly hard. The two were battling for sixth position, and Ocon made a last-minute move to force Alonso to brake hard in order to prevent a collision that would have disappointed the team.
Perez took the lead before pitting, ostensibly after Ferrari brought Leclerc in. The Monegasque, on the other hand, did the opposite and stuck out to attempting to make the overcut work – and a safety car following the Latifi incident meant Perez ended up paying the price.
When the safety car appeared, Leclerc, Verstappen, and Sainz all pitted and returned to the track ahead of Perez, who had to slow down due to the safety car.
Leclerc appeared to be on his way to victory, but engine difficulties for Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, and Valtteri Bottas forced all three to retire, resulting in a virtual safety car. It provided Verstappen with a way back into the race.
It also meant that Lewis Hamilton, who began 16th after a tumultuous qualifying, pitted while in sixth place and dropped to 12th. However with a 10th-place finish, the seven-time world champion earned a point.
Verstappen was rushing behind Leclerc after the safety car restart, putting pressure on the Ferrari for the lead. Leclerc allowed his competitor to overtake him into the penultimate bend, only to reclaim the lead in style with the usage of drag reduction system (DRS).
In Bahrain, he applied an extraordinary racing tactic, but in the Saudi GP on Sunday, Verstappen stormed back and overtook Leclerc on the home straight to win. After failing to finish in Bahrain last week, Verstappen now has points on the board, while Leclerc’s advantage in the Drivers’ Championship has been extended.
Guanyu Zhou, an Alfa Romeo rookie, had a bad race as well, falling down the order after his car appeared to go into anti-stall at the start. On a day that would go down in his early career’s annals, he was then hit with a slew of penalties.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
