Camila Sosa
The Saudi Arabian GP was the setting for the first victory of reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen in the 2022 season, and Mexico’s Sergio “Checo” Pérez finished in fourth place despite taking pole position in qualifying.
Free practice and qualifying has given hints of what would be seen at the Jeddah circuit during Sunday’s race, after Red Bull and Ferrari were competing against each other as they did in the first round of the season in Bahrain.
“Checo” Pérez made history in the classification of the Saudi Arabian GP when he got his first pole position, which was the first for a Mexican in the history of F1. He started from the privileged position, while the two Ferrari cars with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were behind him, and in fourth place came his co-driver, Max Verstappen.
Pérez had a clean start and held the lead until lap 16 when the team decided to send him to the pits to prevent further tyre wear. When “Checo” entered the pits, a yellow flag appeared for Nicholas Latifi’s accident on track and this caused the Mexican to fall to fourth position. He managed to get ahead of third place after leaving pits, but he gave the position moments later to Sainz of Ferrari to avoid being penalized.
Emotions at the Saudi Arabian GP
At that time Leclerc became the new leader of the race followed by Verstappen. The Monegasque driver continued with very good pace on track and kept the Dutchman away. However, on lap 38, 12 laps till the end, another Safety Car slowed down the race and allowed Verstappen to get closer to the Ferrari driver.
Leclerc continued to work under pressure as the Red Bull driver behind him was getting faster, and, only with three laps to go, Verstappen managed to overtake him.
The Dutch driver took his first victory of the season at the Saudi Arabian GP, a scenario that allowed him to win the world championship last season. The podium was completed by Leclerc and Sainz, while Checo Pérez finished fourth, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in tenth position.
The Saudi Arabian GP featured the abandonments of Albon, Bottas, Alonso, Ricciardo, Latifi, and Tsunoda.
After this exciting Saudi Arabian GP, Formula 1 will have a two-week break until April 8 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, to run the Australian GP.
