JEDDAH: Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position on Saturday as Red Bull continued their dominant start to the Formula One season with a second one-two in as many races.

Sergio Perez was runner-up under the Jeddah Corniche floodlights, last year’s winner taking the chequered flag 13.643 seconds behind his triple world champion team mate who now has a 15 point lead in the standings.

Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, also setting the fastest lap on the way to his first podium of the season, but rookie stand-in team mate Oliver Bearman stole the show — finishing seventh and voted Driver of the Day.

It was the first time Verstappen, winner of a record 19 of 22 races last year, has won the first two races of a season. He has also won 19 of the last 20.

The victory was a ninth in a row for Verstappen, dating back to Japan last September, and 56th of the 26-year-old Dutch driver’s career.

It was also his 100th career podium while Red Bull’s 115th win lifted them ahead of Williams in fourth place on the all-time lists.

Britain’s Bearman, making his F1 race debut at 18 years and 305 days old, started in 11th place as Ferrari’s youngest rookie and was a hugely impressive replacement for Spaniard Carlos Sainz, sidelined by appendicitis.

The youngest ever British Formula One driver was also the 66th driver since the start of the championship in 1950 to score on his debut.

Sainz, who underwent surgery on Friday, was back at the track — walking gingerly — to watch his stand-in’s extraordinary day of glory.

Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, with Fernando Alonso fifth for Aston Martin and George Russell sixth for Mercedes and the first of four British drivers following each other across the line.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was eighth and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton ninth for Mercedes with Nico Hulkenberg taking the final point for last year’s bottom team Haas.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024