F1 2022: Verstappen pips Leclerc to Saudi Arabian GP victory

Max Verstappen bounced back from his Bahrain GP retirement to win the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP, just 0.5 sec ahead of Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz finished third, handing Ferrari another podium finish, while Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez had to settle for fourth place after the timing of the safety car dropped him from victory contention.

• Verstappen wins ahead of Leclerc and Sainz
• Safety Car timing hampered Perez
• Hamilton finished 10th

Perez caught out by safety car

After claiming his maiden F1 pole position, Perez was leading fairly comfortably till lap 16, when Red Bull opted to pit him early while Leclerc stayed out. Unfortunately for the Mexican, Nicholas Latifi crashed soon after, bringing out the safety car. With everyone taking advantage of the pit window, the incident handed Leclerc the lead and dropped Perez to third.

However, Perez had to move aside for Sainz once racing resumed to avoid a penalty since he had earlier passed the Ferrari driver during the caution period.

Verstappen defeats Leclerc

Out at front, fans were treated to a Ferrari vs Red Bull battle in the closing stages. By lap 41, Verstappen caught up to Leclerc and briefly took the lead before Leclerc swept back with the help of DRS.

Having learned from his earlier attempt, Verstappen made sure he had DRS and successfully passed Leclerc on Lap 47. But Leclerc was right on his tail and the double yellow flag triggered by Lance Stroll and Alex Albon’s collision only added to the drama. The two battled till the very end, but it was Verstappen who had the upper hand, crossing the chequered flag 0.549 sec ahead.

"I know it was really tough, but a good race. We were battling hard at the front, but we just tried to play the long game. They were really quick through corners; we were quick on the straights," said Verstappen.

"The tyres were wearing out quite quickly. You could see in the end we had a little bit more pace so we tried to get by. It wasn’t easy, playing smart tricks in the last corner, but eventually I managed to get ahead, but even after that he was constantly in the DRS and then with the yellow flags in the last lap, just knowing how much you should lift, what is allowed or not, it was tough. But just really happy to finally kick start the season,” he added.

P10 for Hamilton

George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. Kevin Magnusen put in another strong performance for Haas, finishing ninth.

Lewis Hamilton had to start the race from 15^th on the grid after a disappointing qualifying. Despite making some good progress, he missed the window of opportunity to pit during the second Virtual Safety Car period. As a result, he only managed the 10th place, picking up a sole point.

2022 F1 championship standings

Leclerc still leads the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull’s double retirement in the last race has also helped Ferrari hold on to their advantage in the teams’ championship.

F1 will now head to Melbourne after a break of over two years for the Australian GP on April 8-10.

2022 Saudi Arabian GP results