Verstappen wins Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after late overtake on Leclerc

Max Verstappen has won the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a late fight with Charles Leclerc that will seemingly be the narrative for the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. Pole sitter Sergio Perez lost out with a safety car just after his pitstop, allowing Leclerc to gain the lead. The man from Monaco controlled the race until Verstappen started a late push and took the lead on lap 46. Carlos Sainz rounded off the podium, with Perez in P4. 

Leclerc and Verstappen started their battle on lap 42 for the race win. As he did seven days ago, Leclerc let Verstappen through to get the DRS on the home straight. Second time around, they both locked up before the activation point. Leclerc floored it first and opened a big enough gap to fend off a DRS chase. On the third occasion, Verstappen got the DRS down the home straight and made a successful move on lap 46. 

George Russell had a quiet race to finish fifth, with Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris picking up important points for their teams. 

After a successful start in Bahrain last weekend, the new rules and regulations once again demonstrated their worth with both Alpine drivers engaging in a multi-lap battle in the opening stint of the race. Valtteri Bottas eventully joined this party. The reshuffle and closer midfield also has a tick in the box with a Haas battling a Mercedes for track position over two laps.

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton started on the hard tyres and attempted a long run and wait for a late safety car. Mercedes eventually made the pitstop on lap 41, just after it reopened following a closure. The Brit finished 10th. Nicholas Latifi retired after an accident at the final corner early in the race. Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas all lost power and retired on lap 37. 

The Grand Prix weekend was thrown into doubt on Friday after a missile attack on a nearby oil facility during FP1. There were calls for a cancellation, including from the drivers. Following a lenghty four-hour meeting that went into the early hours of Saturday morning, the FIA and Formula 1 confirmed the weekend would continue as orginally planned. 

The points scorers in our second race of 2022 #SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/HNYOi09t76

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2022

Drama before the start

Following Saturday's huge accident in qualifying, Mick Schumacher didn't race which left Haas with one runner. Yuki Tsunoda also failed to start with a problem on the way to the grid. AlphaTauri reported this as a drivetrain issue that needed further investigation. For a while, it looked like Carlos Sainz would join the list of non-starters but the Ferrari mechanics fixed their problem following some frantic images in the garage. All drivers started on the medium tyres, except Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Lewis Hamilton on the hard tyres as Mercedes looked to roll the dice with a P15 start. 

Perez made a fantastic start from pole position as teammate Verstappen attacked both Ferraris and overtook Sainz for third. Guanyu Zhou had some contact with Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner but they all made it through the opening segment without major trouble. At the end of the first lap, Perez had a 1.2-second advantage and Hamilton worked his way up to P14. 

On lap five, Alpine had a heart in mouth moment as Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon very nearly collided on the home straight whilst fighting for sixth. Alonso contimued his attack on the Frenchman and won the battle two laps later. Ocon tried to get Alonso back as heads shuck inside the Alpine garage. By lap nine, eigth placed Bottas joined the battle. With Otmar Szafnauer initially happy to let his drivers race, the fight for sixth continued throughout the opening stint. This ended on lap 13 with Ocon getting a message to hold position as the team thought about the long-term. But that turned out to be unsuccessful as Bottas overtook for P7. 

Fake undercut attempt

Ferrari broadcasted in a radio message to Leclerc that they wanted to 'pit to overtake' with an undercut attempt, but sold Red Bull a dummy as they pitted race leader Perez. Nicholas Latifi crashed one lap later to cause a safety car giving Perez's rivals a free pitstop. By this point, Hamilton was into the points but yet to make a pitstop. 

Under the safety car, Sainz looked to rejoin the track and crossed the safety car line before Perez who then battled for position. The Mexican got ahead but the stewards noted the problem. Sainz made some strong messages on the team radio. On lap 21, the safety car came in and Perez gave the place back. Leclerc left it until late and pushed Verstappen onto the marbles before reaching the safety car line. The man from Monaco successfully broke the tow down the home straight and pulled away from his rival. 

On lap 37, Alonso, Ricciardo and Bottas all retired. The McLaren and Alpine drivers stopped by the end of the pit lane so the virtual safety car was thrown and the pitlane closed. 

Leclerc and Verstappen started their battle on lap 42 for the race win. As he did seven days ago, Leclerc let Verstappen through to get the DRS on the home straight. Second time around, they both locked up before the activation point. Leclerc floored it first and opened a big enough gap to fend off a DRS chase. On the third occasion, Verstappen got the DRS down the home straight and made a successful move on lap 46.