(Motorsport) The 2022 Formula 1 season has certainly lived up to the hype as cars are more competitive than ever and Ferrari are finally in the mix for a World Championship after over a decade of disappointing results. Sergio Perez may have finished P1 in the qualifying but lost his lead due to an unfortunately timed safety car. However, Red Bull will be happy with their performance this weekend, especially after the disastrous result at the Bahrain Grand Prix last week and couldn’t have hoped for a better start as Perez maintained his pole position while Verstappen overtook Sainz in the first lap.
Meanwhile, seven time World Champion Lewis Hamilton started the race in 15th place after an extremely disappointing qualifying session. Mercedes’ woes continue in the season so far and will need to improve drastically if they hope to come anywhere near the top at the end of the season. In the race, Hamilton managed to do some damage control, progressing from 16th to sixth, but after three back-to-back retirements for Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas, the British racing driver attempted to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. However, he was unable to do so and was forced to pit later, resulting in Hamilton being relegated to 12th place before managing to finish 10th at the end.
With just four laps to go, Verstappen overtook Leclerc in Turn 1 and the reigning champion was elated with the result. Speaking after the race, the Dutch racing driver said “I'm really happy that we've finally kick-started the season." Meanwhile, Leclerc said “Well done to Max, that was nice. It's hard racing but fair. Every race should be like this." The Italian manufacturers may be disappointed not to finish first in Saudi, but both their cars were on the podium at the end of the match and the result will go a long way in the Constructors and Drivers Standings at the end of the season.
Lando Norris managed to score McLaren’s first points of the season while Kevin Magnussen also had an impressive performance and managed to score points for Haas yet again. The stewards investigated the final two laps after the race as many drivers had failed to sufficiently slow down under double-waved yellows after Albon’s crash but only a three place grid penalty was given to the Williams driver due to his collision with Lance Stroll.
Top 10 grid places at the Saudi Arabia GP
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5) George Russell, Mercedes
6) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
7) Lando Norris, McLaren
8) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
9) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Also read: Lewis Hamilton aims to fight for diversity in Formula 1
