Max Verstappen stayed firmly on target for an additional season of dominance in Formula 1 on Saturday by winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Even after just two races, and despite turmoil at Red Bull, Verstappen seems in near-total control on the track as he goals for a fourth consecutive title this 12 months. Still, he needed to share the eye with 18-year-old Oliver Bearman, who was a surprise seventh in his first F1 race as a Ferrari stand-in.
“A implausible weekend for the entire team and in addition for myself. I felt really good with the automotive,” Verstappen said.
The Dutch driver won easily ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez by 8.6 seconds on the road, 13.6 once a time penalty for Perez was factored in. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.
“It was a little bit of a boring race because Red Bull were a bit too quick and behind we had a little bit of a spot, but we took the utmost points we could today,” Leclerc said.
Verstappen began on pole and held off Leclerc at the primary corner, as he did last week on the season-opener in Bahrain which he won, before quickly constructing his lead.
The one interruption got here when Lance Stroll’s crash brought out the protection automotive. Verstappen got here into the pits for a tire change and after the restart easily passed Lando Norris — who hadn’t stopped — to retake the lead.
Perez had a five-second penalty because Red Bull released him from a pit stop into the trail of one other automotive, but that did not matter since he finished far ahead of Leclerc.
Verstappen has won nine races in a row going back to last season, and 19 of the last 20 races in total. The subsequent race in Australia on March 24 offers him the prospect to match his own record of 10 consecutive wins, set last 12 months.
Saturday’s race was the a hundredth podium finish of Verstappen’s profession and his 56th win, a signal of just how dominant his recent title-winning seasons with Red Bull have been.
Bearman was seventh for Ferrari, someday after the British driver was called up as an emergency alternative for Carlos Sainz Jr., who needed an operation to treat appendicitis.
Oscar Piastri took fourth for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fifth and George Russell sixth for Mercedes.
Behind Bearman, McLaren’s Lando Norris held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in a fight for eighth place. Nico Hulkenberg was tenth for Haas’ first point in F1 because the Singapore Grand Prix in September.
Verstappen’s second win of the season followed speculation over his future at Red Bull.
Verstappen had suggested Friday that he might reconsider his relationship with the team if his mentor Helmut Marko were to go away Red Bull, but Marko told German broadcaster Sky Sport on Saturday that he was staying.
“I all the time said that, what’s most vital is that we work together as a team and that everybody keeps the peace,” Verstappen said after the race.
“And that’s what we, I believe, all of us agree on inside the team. So hopefully from now onwards that can be fully the case and everyone seems to be attempting to focus in the identical direction. And I believe the positive out of all that is that it didn’t hurt our performances, so it’s a really strong team.”
The team’s parent company last week dismissed a criticism of alleged misconduct by Red Bull team principal Horner toward a team worker. Verstappen’s father Jos has been sharply critical of Horner, claiming the team could “explode” if he stays in charge.
The worker whose criticism sparked the investigation has since been suspended, an individual with information on the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person requested anonymity because Red Bull hasn’t revealed details of the investigation.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
