It was a stellar weekend for Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez, who turned a pole position into triumph at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Two-time defending Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen gave Red Bull a 1-2 finish on the 3.836-mile road course, after starting in 15th due to driveshaft issues in qualifying.
“It turned out to be tougher than expected. That safety car — we really did a job in the first stint, but that safety car again tried to take the victory from us in Jeddah – but not this time! I was owed a victory last year, so finally I got it,” said Perez.
Despite starting near the rear of the field, Verstappen quickly worked his way to second position. However, the 25-year-old was unable to challenge Perez after the same driveshaft concerns emerged late in the race.
“The team did a fantastic job,” Perez said. “The job they’ve done, they’ve worked so hard during the week, we’ve had a lot of mechanical issues and these guys have been on top of that. I’m really happy for them and it’s time to celebrate.”
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso initially was given two time penalties that negated him to fourth. However, Alonso regained his 100th career podium after Aston Martin requested a right of review.
The first penalty came on the start of the event, after lining up outside his grid box. The other was a 10-second infraction for the rear jack mechanic touching the car before the Spaniard’s initial penalty had been served.
The stewards reviewed the footage, stating there was new evidence that suggested Alonso’s car was not being worked on before the 10-second penalty in the pits was up.
“Having reviewed the new evidence, we concluded that there was no clear agreement, as was suggested to the stewards previously, that could be relied upon to determine that parties had agreed that a jack touching a car would amount to working on the car.
“In the circumstances, we considered that our original decision to impose a penalty on car 14 needed to be reversed and we did so accordingly.”
Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth, with Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top five in fifth.
After a pre-race grid penalty, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would manage to only work his way up to seventh, with teammate Carlos Sainz leading the charge in sixth.
Alpine Renault earned points with both entries, after Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
Haas F-1 Team managed to score their first points of the season, with veteran Kevin Magnussen finishing tenth.
After two races, Verstappen holds a one-point lead in the standings over teammate Perez.