Verstappen battles better with Leclerc for F1 Saudi Arabia GP

An emotional brawl marked the end of the Formula 1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. This Sunday (27), Max Verstappen got involved in the fight against Charles Leclerc and beat Monaco to secure victory in Jeddah.

The Ferrari rival, after passing Sergio Perez, was able to set the pace and stay in pole position for most of the dispute. But with only a few laps left, he had to face the onslaught of Red Bull’s opponent.

Therefore, the current Dutch Formula One champion was able to choose the right moments to overtake, knew how to hold Leclerc and crossed the finish line in first place. This will be his twenty-first victory in this category.

Find out how the F1 Saudi Arabia GP went:

The F1 Saudi Arabia GP will already have two fewer names on the grid. The first was for Mick Schumacher, who had a serious accident in qualifying and, although cleared by doctors, the car would not be ready in time.

The other was Yuki Tsunoda. When I opened the dashboard for the drivers to go into the grid, the Japanese reported an engine failure and stopped the AlpraTauri in the middle of the lane, forcing them back into the pits.

Who also had tense moments was Carlos Sainz and Ferrari. The Italian team found a problem with the Spaniard’s car wiring less than an hour after the start, but was able to reverse the situation and move the driver to the third pole.

Pirelli pointed out three tire strategies, two of which start with a medium tire and one with a soft tire. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen chose the toughest compound in the range available – and everything else was average.

An authorized start in Saudi Arabia and Sergio Perez managed to stay in first place. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen managed to overtake Sainz and finished third, starting the chase on top of Charles Leclerc.

After three completed laps, Perez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Esteban Ocon, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Lando Norris completed the top ten.

Minor changes in the situation have been seen since the lights went out in Jeddah. The person who lost the most positions is Guanyu Zhou who, due to car problems, dropped seven positions, but was slowly recovering.

Pirelli pointed out three tire strategies, two of which start with a medium tire and one with a soft tire. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen chose the toughest compound in the range available – and everything else was average.

An authorized start in Saudi Arabia and Sergio Perez managed to stay in first place. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen managed to overtake Sainz and finished third, starting the chase on top of Charles Leclerc.

After three completed laps, Perez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Esteban Ocon, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Lando Norris completed the top ten.

Minor changes in the situation have been seen since the lights went out in Jeddah. The person who lost the most positions is Guanyu Zhou who, due to car problems, dropped seven positions, but was slowly recovering.

Then the alpine duo launched a fight that was probably very intense. While they were vying for seventh place, the two-time champion of Spain took a heavy blow from his French teammate, almost causing a collision.

Soon, he met his teammates again at the track. This time, Alonso made the trial beat Esteban and managed to overtake him for sixth place.

Ocon and Fernando were in a sharp dispute and constantly changing positions. The Frenchman now got the change over the two-time champion, but managed to pass off the track.

Valtteri Bottas took advantage of the match. Behind the Alpine duo, the Finn was getting closer and closer, being just 0.327secs off Ocon – soon after, it was Magnussen’s turn to join.

The first driver who decided to go into the pits was Daniel Ricciardo on lap 10. The McLaren driver chose to stop early and moved into the harder boat.

Meanwhile, back on the field, Hamilton was in his battle to recover after lining up for 15th. With 12 rounds completed, the seven-time champion finished 11th, roughly within the points area.

The most exciting fights were in the middle of the pack. Meanwhile, Perez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz Russell, Alonso, Fotas, Ocon, Magnussen and Hamilton closed the top ten.

On the last lap, the Dutch Red Bull turned faster than the first and second places. While the Mexican clocked 1 minute 35 seconds 316 minutes 35 seconds 214 minutes, the defending champion turned around in 1 minute 35 seconds 093 minutes.

At that moment, Perez went to the pit and in a quick stop for the Austrian team, he returned to the track in fifth place, just behind George. Put the rider on the hardest boat.

On lap 16, Nicholas Latifi again had an accident in Saudi Arabia. The Canadian Williams car hit the firewall in Sector 3 and sent the first safety car off the lane.

Taking advantage of that, the drivers began to go into the pits. Leclerc, Verstappen, Alonso, Bottas and Ocon were among those stopping by for a tire change. Even Monaco finished first, Max finished second and Sergio third.

While the safety car was on track, Sainz took the opportunity to complain about Perez. The Spaniard stated that the Mexican pushed him when he left the pit, saying he was ahead of the opponent.

Finally, the safety car returned to pits on lap 20 and the race resumed in Jeddah. Verstappen was close to Leclerc, but the current leader of the arrangement managed to stay on point.

In the back, the Red Bull rival returned the position to Carlos, and he fell back to fourth. Russell, Magnussen, Hamilton, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Bottas completed the top ten.

It was the good fight that started to form between Louis and Kevin. The Englishman managed to outrun the Haas driver and finish sixth, but took the change and returned to seventh place.

On the next lap, Hamilton again tried to overtake and inside, he managed to take the Magnussen position. This time, he managed to open some breaths regarding the opponent. It is worth noting that the duo, as well as Hülkenberg, have not yet stopped.

It was the good fight that started to form between Louis and Kevin. The Englishman managed to outrun the Haas driver and finish sixth, but took the change and returned to seventh place.

On the next lap, Hamilton again tried to overtake and inside, he managed to take the Magnussen position. This time, he managed to open some breaths regarding the opponent. It is worth noting that the duo, as well as Hülkenberg, have not yet stopped.

In a nice maneuver, Alonso managed to finish seventh after a good pass over Magnussen. Offshore, the Spaniard managed to get ahead and quickly opened up an advantage on the Haas driver.

But in the next turn, the Dane got the change over the Spaniard. In fact, Fernando had problems, suddenly lost power and had to retire with 15 laps to go.

Soon, it was Ricciardo’s turn to stop in the middle of the lane due to car issues and exit the virtual safety car. In the sequence, the broadcast also showed that Bottas, who was doing well, gave up the race.

The pilots took the opportunity to stop. However, shortly after the virtual safety car, the parking lane was closed so no one else could enter for the time being.

The one who ended up missing an entrance pit was Hamilton. Mercedes even called the seven-time champion on the stock exchange, first in the Grand Prix, but only when he had already crossed the passenger lane area and, accordingly, expressed his dissatisfaction on the radio.

With that said, there were already five pilots who left the dispute in Saudi Arabia, not to mention Schumacher. Tsunoda who couldn’t start, Latifah, Ricciardo, Alonso and Bottas, leaving 14 contenders on the track.

The race resumed and Leclerc had no trouble staying in pole position, despite losing ground to Verstappen. Meanwhile, Lewis went into the pits and in a slow stop by the German team, was back on the track only 12th.

Verstappen and Leclerc began drawing the fight seen in Bahrain. Less than 1 second away from Monaco, the Dutchman opened his moving wing and got close to the pointer, but could not take first place.

On the second attempt, the Red Bull pilot managed to take first place. But not for long, as the current leader of the rating gave the change to the opponent to return to the first.

The competitors were in a very exciting battle to lead the peloton. When Verstappen was about to overtake he ended up dislocating his foot, as did Leclerc, who managed to maintain the lead.

The reigning F1 champion was taking time off from the current leader of the standings in the sectors. The runner-up touches the pointer again, but is waiting for the right moment to try to overtake.

At the entrance to the main straight, the Red Bull rival once again beat the Ferrari opponent. This time, the pilot began to distance himself from the competitor, opening 0s776.

When Leclerc again approached Verstappen to try to overtake him to reclaim first place, the yellow flag in Sector 1 threw water on a Monegasque beer, who was unable to open the DRS.

It didn’t work with Leclerc. Verstappen took the win in Saudi Arabia, with Leclerc in second and Sainz completing the podium today. Perez and Russell completed the top five in Jeddah.

1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3) Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari)
4) Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
5) George Russell (Mercedes)
6) Esteban Ocon (Alpine/Renault)
7) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes)
8) Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri / Red Bull)
9) Kevin Magnussen (Haas/Ferrari)
10) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
11) Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo/Ferrari)
12) Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin/Mercedes)
13) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Mercedes)
14) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes)
outside) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo/Ferrari)
Out) Fernando Alonso (Alpine / Renault)
Off the field) Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren/Mercedes)
Off the field) Nicholas Latifi (Williams/Mercedes).
Didn’t fall) Mick Schumacher (Haas/Ferrari)
I Didn’t Leave It) Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri/Red Bull)