Perez Holds Off Verstappen to Seal Red Bull One-Two at Saudi Arabian

Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Max Verstappen drove from 15th to second to give Red Bull a 1-2 finish in Jeddah | Photo Credit: Hassan Ammar

FORMULA ONE Perez Holds Off Verstappen to Seal Red Bull One-Two at Saudi Arabian

Shafic Kiyaga 21:41 - 19.03.2023

Fernando Alonso, though he had taken his second successive podium, but was relegated to fourth place with a 10 second penalty at the end of the race.

Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez held off a charging Max Verstappen to secure a one-two finish for the team at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah on Sunday.

Verstappen, who had started in 15th place due to a technical failure in qualifying, moved up to second following a safety car intervention that bunched up the field, but was unable to overtake his teammate, who displayed great composure throughout the race.

Fernando Alonso, though he had taken his second successive podium, but was relegated to fourth place with a 10 second penalty at the end of the race.

George Russell, who was promoted to third place after Alonso's penalty, finished ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who came in fifth.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished sixth and seventh, respectively, for Ferrari, while Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri came in eighth and ninth.

Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10 with a late overtake on Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri.

Verstappen had been a heavy favourite heading into qualifying, having topped all three practice sessions, but his hopes of victory were dashed by a driveshaft failure that saw him exit Q2.

Despite starting in 15th, Verstappen steadily made his way up the field, gaining over seven places inside the opening 15 minutes, including an easy overtake past Hamilton.

Lance Stroll's technical failure on his Aston Martin brought out a safety car on lap 18, leaving the front-runners to all come into the pits before bunching up together once the track was cleared.

As soon as DRS was enabled after the restart, Verstappen eased past Russell and Alonso to move directly behind his teammate, with half the race still remaining.

Perez, who had only won three races in his previous two seasons as Verstappen's teammate, started the race from pole but lost the lead to Alonso at the start.

Alonso’s joy was short lived, however, as he was handed a five second penalty for starting in the wrong position, and was then handed a 10-second penalty for incorrectly serving his earlier penalty.

The Spaniard’s second infringement came after the rear jack was in contact with the back of his car while he served his penalty during his pit stop.

Russell finished on track directly ahead of Hamilton, having ignored team instructions to let his teammate past him, after the safety car had left the seven-time world champion with a better chance of chasing down Alonso.

Russell's podium was a welcome result for Mercedes, who had a difficult weekend at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.