Formula One’s flying Dutchman Max Verstappen picked up his nineteenth win within the final 20 races as he led Red Bull to a one-two end within the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix later Saturday.
Even after simply two races, and regardless of turmoil at Red Bull, Verstappen appears in near-total management on the monitor as he goals for a fourth consecutive title this yr.
Still, he needed to share the eye with 18-year-old Oliver Bearman, who was a shock seventh in his first F1 race as a Ferrari stand-in.
“A fantastic weekend for the whole team and also for myself. I felt really good with the car,” Verstappen mentioned.
The Dutch driver gained simply forward of his teammate Sergio Perez by 8.6 seconds on the highway, 13.6 as soon as a time penalty for Perez was factored in. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.
“It was a bit of a boring race because Red Bull were a bit too quick and behind we had a bit of a gap, but we took the maximum points we could today,” Leclerc mentioned.
Verstappen began on pole and held off Leclerc on the first nook, as he did final week on the season-opener in Bahrain which he gained, earlier than rapidly constructing his lead.
The solely interruption got here when Lance Stroll’s crash introduced out the security automotive. Verstappen got here into the pits for a tire change and after the restart simply handed Lando Norris – who hadn’t stopped – to retake the lead.
Perez had a five-second penalty as a result of Red Bull launched him from a pit cease into the trail of one other automotive, however that did not matter since he completed far forward of Leclerc.
Verstappen has gained 9 races in a row going again to final season. The subsequent race in Australia on March 24 gives him the prospect to match his personal report of 10 consecutive wins, set final yr.
Saturday’s race was the one centesimal podium end of Verstappen’s profession and his 56th win, a sign of simply how dominant his latest title-winning seasons with Red Bull have been.
Bearman was seventh for Ferrari, at some point after the British driver was known as up as an emergency substitute for Carlos Sainz Jr., who wanted an operation to deal with 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 battle for eighth place. Nico Hulkenberg was tenth for Haas’ first level in F1 because the Singapore Grand Prix in September.
Verstappen’s second win of the season adopted hypothesis over his future at Red Bull.
Verstappen had recommended Friday that he may rethink his relationship with the staff if his mentor Helmut Marko have been to depart Red Bull, however Marko instructed German broadcaster Sky Sport on Saturday that he was staying.
“I always said that, what is most important is that we work together as a team and that everyone keeps the peace,” Verstappen mentioned after the race.
“And that’s what we, I think, we all agree on within the team. So hopefully from now onwards that is also fully the case and everyone is trying to focus in the same direction. And I think the positive out of all this is that it didn’t hurt our performances, so it’s a very strong team.”
The staff’s mother or father firm final week dismissed a grievance of alleged misconduct by Red Bull staff principal Horner towards a staff worker. Verstappen’s father Jos has been sharply important of Horner, claiming the staff might “explode” if he stays in cost.
The worker whose grievance sparked the investigation has since been suspended, an individual with info on the matter instructed The Associated Press on Thursday. The particular person requested anonymity as a result of Red Bull haven’t revealed particulars of the investigation.
Source: www.dailysabah.com