2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Race Review

The third-ever Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix came our way from the 6.174 km long Jeddah Corniche Circuit. What went down at the fastest street race of the season? Stick with Supercars.com.GH until the end to find out.

An Early Charge From Alonso

Going into this race, every F1 fan was itching to see how Fernando Alonso would react as the lights go out, starting from P2 on the grid. And boy did he not disappoint! The 42-year-old immediately flew past Perez, leading the race for the first handful of laps.

However, the start was a bit controversial for Alonso. He did not line up for the star correctly, handing him a 5-second time penalty. A later penalty of 10 seconds was added on top for not serving it correctly, but ultimately, Alonso came home in 3rd position, claiming his 100th podium finish in his long and illustrious F1 career.

Lance Stroll In Trouble

Alonso’s teammate, Lance Stroll, also had an amazing race at the beginning. He got off the line well and pulled off an amazing move on the outside of Carlos Sainz for 4th position. Things were going well for the Canadian driver until plumes of white smoke started emerging from the back of his car during the 18th lap.

This obviously ruled Lance out of the race, while bringing out the safety car. But, this was music to the ears of another driver, who was starting the race from the back with the fastest car on the track.

A Champion’s Charge

We are of course talking about none other than Max Verstappen. The 2-time World Champion started the race from the back due to the reliability gremlins he faced during qualifying, and the safety car period played to his hand perfectly.

The Dutchman put on one of the greatest performances ever seen in modern F1. From the start, he methodically made his way through each of his competitors and saved an enormous amount of time by making a pitstop under the safety car.

He was even looking in contention for the race victory at one point. Ultimately, Verstappen came home in P2, while also claiming the extra point for the fastest lap of the race.

Victory For Perez

Sergio Perez had an amazing race, successfully converting his pole position from yesterday to a race victory. This was a feat he was unable to achieve this time last year. Although he faced some challenges from his teammate during the final few laps, the Mexican achieved a well-deserved victory.

Position	Driver	Time	Points
1	Sergio Perez	1:21:14.894	25
2	Max Verstappen	+5.355s	19
3	Fernando Alonso	+20.728s	15
4	George Russell	+25.866s	12
5	Lewis Hamilton	+31.065s	10
6	Carlos Sainz	+35.876s	8
7	Charles Leclerc	+43.162s	6
8	Esteban Ocon	+52.832s	4
9	Pierre Gasly	+54.747s	2
10	Kevin Magnussen	+64.826s	1
11	Yuki Tsunoda	+67.494s	0
12	Nico Hulkenberg	+70.588s	0
13	Zhou Guanyu	+76.060s	0
14	Nyck De Vries	+77.478s	0
15	Oscar Piastri	+85.021s	0
16	Logan Sargeant	+86.293s	0
17	Lando Norris	+86.445s	0
18	Valtteri Bottas	+1 lap	0
NC	Alexander Albon	DNF	0
NC	Lance Stroll	DNF	0

With his amazing performance today, Verstappen holds the lead of the championship from his teammate by a single point. How will this battle fare go forward? Join us on the next race weekend to see how the championship progresses. Until then, don’t forget to check out past F1 content on our website and social media platforms.