Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 09, 2024: Max Verstappen has continued his title defence in fine style by taking a dominant victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while Bearman scores points on debut.
Max Verstappen, starting from pole position, rocketed into the lead. His teammate, Sergio Pérez (Checo), also had a fantastic start, battling Charles Leclerc for second place and ultimately taking it around the outside of Turn 1. Leclerc tried to fight back, but Checo held him off and reclaimed P2.
Verstappen, starting from pole position, launched into an impressive lead at the start of the 50-lap race. However, the race took an unexpected turn with an early Safety Car deployment. This triggered a strategic frenzy in the pit lane, with Red Bull opting for a bold double-stack pit stop for both drivers. While Verstappen maintained his lead, the gamble allowed others, like Norris and Hamilton, who opted to stay out, to gain temporary positions. This briefly put Norris in a surprising lead under the safety car, but it was clear this advantage wouldn’t last long.
Despite a hairy moment during the pit stop chaos, Sergio Perez secured a crucial second place finish. He cut in front of Alonso to reach his new tires, earning a five-second penalty from Race Control. However, his driving was on fire, and he managed to overtake Norris again on lap 18, ultimately holding onto P2 despite the penalty.
Leclerc claimed the final podium spot, while Oscar Piastri put on a strong performance to finish fourth. A significant portion of Piastri’s race was spent trying to overtake Lewis Hamilton, one of the few drivers who gambled on staying out longer during the early pit stops. This strategy put Hamilton in contention for a while, but Piastri ultimately found a way past him.
Despite his teammate Lance Stroll causing a Safety Car with a lap 7 crash, Fernando Alonso put in a strong performance for Aston Martin, holding on to fifth place. He even managed to fend off late-race pressure from George Russell in the Mercedes, who ultimately finished just behind him in sixth.
Stepping in for the unwell Carlos Sainz, 18-year-old Oliver Bearman made a dream Formula 1 debut at the Saudi Grand Prix. Not only did he finish a remarkable seventh, but he also secured his first championship points with a series of impressive overtaking maneuvers.
Bearman led a pack of British drivers, with Lando Norris ending the day in P8 ahead of Hamilton in P9. Both Norris and Hamilton had stretched out their opening stints on the medium tyre before making pit stops in the second half of the race.
Haas’s strategy secured their first point of the season with Nico Hulkenberg’s P10 finish. He opted to stay out during the initial pit stops, while his teammate Kevin Magnussen played a crucial role. Magnussen held back a group of drivers, creating space for Hulkenberg to rejoin the race after his own pit stop.
Stroll was one of the two to retire following that early crash, while Pierre Gasly’s race was practically over before it started. The Frenchman retired soon after the start, having reported a gearbox issue on the Formation Lap.
Race results – Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- POSITION 1: Max Verstappen (Team – Red Bull Racing), Time: 1:20:43.273, Points: 25
- POSITION 2: Sergio Perez (Team – Red Bull Racing), Time: +13.643s, Points: 18
- POSITION 3: Charles Leclerc (Team – Ferrari), Time: +18.639s, Points: 16
- POSITION 4: Oscar Piastri (Team – McLaren), Time: +32.007s, Points: 12
- POSITION 5: Fernando Alonso (Team – Aston Martin), Time: +35.759s, Points: 10
The next stop on the 2024 F1 calendar will be the Australian Grand Prix, with the paddock heading to the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit from March 22-24.
