Max Verstappen takes on Charles Leclerc in amusing street fight | formula 1

Not Verstappen, but Sergio Perez started the 2nd race of the season in Saudi Arabia on pole position. A first for the Mexican, but it didn’t give him much stress. Perez got off to a great start and defended his 1st place.

Verstappen took advantage of a delay at Ferrari to move to 3rd place, but the race in Jeddah did not yield more action in the opening phase. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon decided to entertain the audience with a bit of bickering.

For leader Perez, there seemed to be no problem until he chose an unlucky moment to change tires. Just then Nicholas Latifi parked his Williams in the wall: the safety car intervened, Leclerc took the lead.

For example, the GP of Saudi Arabia got a new race director, without actually seeing much action. The failures of Ricciardo, Bottas and Alonso were the only notable events in Jeddah.

Until Verstappen and Leclerc decided to cross swords after 40 laps. The Dutchman quickly swept the Monegask, only to see his rival from Ferrari speed past again thanks to DRS.

The start of a wonderful duel that would last until the last round. Verstappen took another chance, but slowed down. Third time lucky. The Red Bull went on to take the lead on the straight.

And it wasn’t over yet: Leclerc made a frantic attempt to book a 2nd victory in a row, but overtaking was no longer possible. World champion Verstappen flushes Bahrain’s disappointment with a win in Saudi Arabia.

What about Lewis Hamilton in the meantime? The seven-time world champion had to start from 15th place after disappointing qualifications. On the hard tyre, the Briton was able to move up to 6th place … but then he still had to complete a mandatory pit stop.

It didn’t get any better than 10th place and one World Cup point for Hamilton. Although the 5th place for Russell will ease the pain a bit for Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz (3rd) stayed ahead of the unfortunate Perez, who saw a victory slip out of his hands due to bad luck. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) claimed 6th place after teammate Alonso retired.

And for McLaren there is some light at the end of the horizon. Lando Norris just didn’t get past Ocon, but a 7th place will do the Brit some good. Kevin Magnussen (9th) also gave Haas points for the 2nd race in a row.