Red Bull sees double. Like last week in Bahrain, the Austrian team placed Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez on the highest steps of the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday. The “best of the rest”, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), was 18.6 seconds behind the lead at the finish. Last-minute invitee to compensate for Carlos Sainz’s withdrawal, Ollie Bearman (Ferrari), 18, made his mark by scoring his first six points (7th).
His victory is less resounding than in Sakhir, but Max Verstappen (Red Bull) is well above the fray. If the Batavian converted his pole position into success in Jeddah by winning with more than eight seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez, he had the spotlight stolen by the Ferrari drivers.
Best time for Leclerc… on the last lap
Charles Leclerc, third in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a solo race, collected the bonus point for the fastest lap on the wire, which was then the property of a Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) equipped with tires soft almost new.
Equipped with tough guys since the crash of Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and the exit of the safety car at the start of the event, Verstappen had nevertheless panicked the times. Between the 14th and 32nd laps, he lowered the mark six times before Pérez, Hamilton then Leclerc committed the crime of lèse-majesté of beating him.
Bearman succeeds in debut
But this Saturday, all eyes were on an 18-year-old kid. Ollie Bearman, called to the rescue by Ferrari after Carlos Sainz’s last-minute withdrawal (appendicitis), wore the red costume perfectly.
The Englishman, who had taken pole in Formula 2 at the start of the weekend, started from eleventh position among the big ones, and he finished seventh despite the pressure exerted at the end by his compatriots Lando Norris (McLaren ) and Hamilton. Two drivers who did not take advantage of the safety car to throw themselves into the pit lane, Norris even having led the proceedings for six laps before being swallowed up by the insatiable Verstappen.
The middle of the Top 10 is occupied by three different teams: after having honked behind Hamilton for a long time, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), fourth, dominated Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and the Spaniard was ahead of George Russell (Mercedes).
On the French side, Alpine finished the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix better than it started. Betrayed by his gearbox during the formation lap, Pierre Gasly threw in the towel at the end of the first lap. His teammate Esteban Ocon held on and ended up climbing to 13th place by taking advantage of an error from Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls).