Just seven days after Ferrari conquered the Formula One season opener in Bahrain and Red Bull endured the pain of a double DNF, racing returns to the streets of Jeddah for the second Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for live scores and race updates from 4am (AEDT).
Debuting as the penultimate race of the 2021 season, the ‘world’s fastest street circuit’ as its known is a literal 6.1km rollercoaster, with zero margin for error and all the praise to be gained if one gets it right.
The inaugural race will forever be remembered for the intense battle for the win between Lewis Hamilton and eventual world champion Max Verstappen, with both drivers coming to blows on-track.
It should be a race of attrition and survival, where valuable results will be on the table should one stay out of trouble. The key being staying out of trouble as incidents have always been aplenty and Safety Cars breed Safety Cars.
The red flag marred qualifying saw Sergio Perez stun the favourites to steal pole position from Charles Leclerc by a thin 0.025 second margin, with Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three.
Perez holds the record of most races contested until a maiden pole position thanks to that sensational lap, while teammate Verstappen was 0.261 seconds adrift in fourth.
Nicholas Latifi triggered a stoppage in Q1 when he lost the rear of his Williams and went into the barriers, while it was Mick Schumacher’s Q2 horrific shunt which saw a 45-minute red flag. Both drivers were ok, with the Haas driver having been airlifted to hospital for further checks.
Esteban Ocon lines up fifth for the race he narrowly missed out on the podium for in 2021, where he was pipped to the line by former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas – who qualified eighth for Alfa Romeo.
2021 winner Hamilton shocked with a first Q1 exit since 2017, with the seven-time world champion unable to settle in with the difficult Mercedes W13 around the street circuit. Teammate George Russell conversely made it into the top ten and was the fastest Mercedes powered car in sixth.
What looks like another straight fight between Ferrari and Red Bull headlines potentially a mixed grand prix. Can Leclerc make it back-to-back wins as he did in 2019? Perez convert it from pole, or Sainz take a maiden win?
Join in on the chat during The Roar’s live blog coverage from 3:50am AEDT of the 50-lap Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Race Information
Lights out: 4am (AEDT)
Venue: Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Grid
1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 5. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 6. George Russell (Mercedes), 7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 8. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), 9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 11. Lando Norris (McLaren), 12. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 13. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), 14. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 16. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 17. Alex Albon (Williams), 18. Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin), 19. Nicholas Latifi (Williams), 20. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Simoc
Guest
It's shaping as another epic season, even better with all the overtaking currently happenning.
andrew
Roar Rookie
Hey Jawad. See George Russell is going ok. Good to see Max back in the winners circle. Ferrari's definitely going to be a force this year, but I'm still perplexed why McLaren is still having problems. You'd think things would have been sorted in the off season but they just look way off the pace. Hope Dan can improve in Melbourne, though the pressure on him by the Australian media will be immense.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks again for tuning in for this Formula One live blog. What a fight we've got on our hands up and down the field at the moment. How exciting, especially considering the next round of the championship will be on home soil with racing returning to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix! Until then, take care and ciao.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
What a race that was! Thoughts on that one Roarers?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 45 -- Charles Leclerc 33 -- Carlos Sainz 25 -- Max Verstappen 22 -- George Russell 16 -- Lewis Hamilton 14 -- Esteban Ocon 12 -- Sergio Perez 12 -- Kevin Magnussen 8 --- Valtteri Bottas 6 --- Lando Norris 4 --- Yuki Tsunoda 4 --- Pierre Gasly 2 --- Fernando Alonso 1 --- Guanyu Zhou 0 --- Mick Schumacher 0 --- Lance Stroll 0 --- Nico Hulkenberg 0 --- Alex Albon 0 --- Daniel Ricciardo 0 --- Nicholas Latifi
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 78 -- Ferrari 38 -- Mercedes AMG 37 -- Red Bull Racing 16 -- Alpine 12 -- Haas Ferrari 9 --- Alfa Romeo Racing 8 --- Scuderia AlphaTauri 6 --- McLaren Mercedes 0 --- Aston Martin Racing 0 --- Williams Mercedes
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT A thrilling conclusion to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw reigning world champion Max Verstappen battle with Charles Leclerc until the final corner, to win his first race of season. The pair again locked horns with less than ten laps to go, following the intervention of a Virtual Safety Car where three cars all had separate failures to retire. Leclerc at this point was leading, while Verstappen was in pursuit. Lap 42 saw the Red Bull go around the outside of the Ferrari on the back straight to lead into the final corner, all before Leclerc retaliated down the main straight to retake the lead. Both cars locked up going into the final hairpin a lap later, as Verstappen’s patience was tested. All before the Red Bull made the race winning move on Lap 47 also on the pit straight. A slender 0.549 second margin separated the two old rivals, as Ferrari secured third also with another solid drive from Carlos Sainz to consolidate their constructor’s championship lead. Pole sitter Sergio Perez was cruelled during the pit-stop phase, despite having comfortably led the early stages of the race. The Mexican pitted on Lap 16, having been dummied by Ferrari in the pit-lane – only for a Safety Car to be triggered by a Nicholas Latifi crash, to gift a cheap pit-stops to the others. Perez also came under scrutiny for a pass on Sainz, as the Ferrari exited pit-lane. Given that this was under Safety Car conditions, the move was deemed illegal and the Red Bull driver had to return the position – en route to fourth. Esteban Ocon again fought to the finish line like last year, though this time with Lando Norris for sixth. The Frenchman put on a show with teammate Fernando Alonso, who was one of the late retirements – duelling away through the middle of the race. There was great racing between Kevin Magnussen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton also, as the Mercedes from fifteenth on the grid fought its way into the points. The Briton did run 41-laps on the hard tyres from the start and then fell afoul of the late Virtual Safety Car, when the pit-lane was closed for the stricken McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo. Having had to wait till after this, Hamilton lost the opportunity for top seven finish – just behind teammate George Russell in fifth. First points of the season for Norris and McLaren, as well as Pierre Gasly in eighth for AlphaTauri. The Red Bull sister team unfortunately only had one car race, with Yuki Tsunoda suffering a failure on the way to the grid pre-race.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by David Coulthard VERSTAPPEN - "Was a really tough, but good race." "We just had to play the long game, they were quick in the corners and we were quick on the straights." "Really happy that we kickstarted our season." LECLERC - "It wasn't enough today, but I really enjoyed that race!" "Every race should be like this." "It was extremely difficult for me to match Max on the straights." SAINZ - "It was a close call there with Checo, the rules are the rules and I was just ahead at the Safety Car line." "Still some tenths to find, but I will get there."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 50-LAP SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen 2 C. Leclerc (Fastest Lap) 3 C. Sainz 4 S. Perez 5 G. Russell 6 E. Ocon 7 L. Norris 8 P. Gasly 9 K. Magnussen 10 L. Hamilton 11 G. Zhou 12 N. Hulkenberg 13 L. Stroll 14 A. Albon RET V. Bottas RET F. Alonso RET D. Ricciardo RET N. Latifi DNS Y. Tsunoda
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX! What a finish with Charles Leclerc only 0.549 behind, but fighting all the way till the end for the win. And another podium finish for Carlos Sainz, giving another chunk of points to Ferrari.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 50/50: FINAL LAP Leclerc follows Verstappen close through the first sector, this will go down to the final corner no doubt!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 49/50: Brief yellow flags waved ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc, with contact between Stroll and Albon see both cars limping around the track. That might have just given Verstappen the reprieve he needed.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 48/50: Verstappen sets the fastest lap of the race well on that occasion with a 1:31.779. Leclerc now harvesting his ERS, no doubt for a last lap charge.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 47/50: Verstappen makes the move down the pit straight with DRS! He makes the move stick on this occasion, as Leclerc goes deep into Turn 2. Can the Ferrari return serve at the end of this lap?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 46/50: FIVE LAPS TO GO Max still within DRS range of Leclerc. This is far from over!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 45/50: Hamilton has a go at Stroll for tenth, but the Canadian keeps the seven-time world champion behind temporarily. Now the Mercedes is ahead and into the points.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 44/50: The pair both locked up into the final hairpin on the previous lap! Leclerc just manages to hold on, much to the fury of the reigning world champion. Verstappen also furious that he sees the Ferrari crossing the white line of pit entry which isn't allowed.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 43/50: Leclerc retaliates with DRS down the pit straight and returns serve on the Red Bull to retake the lead. The Ferrari immediately gaps the Red Bull by a second.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/50: Verstappen goes around the outside and leads the race before the final corner!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/50: Verstappen cuts the gap to Leclerc to just under half a second, as the pair are well separated from Sainz in third who is now 10 seconds behind.