Max Verstappen wins tense duel with Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen won his first victory of the 2022 Formula One season after a nail-biting duel with Charles Leclerc in the dying stages of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium in Jeddah. (Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
Leclerc held the lead after an early safety car, with Verstappen catching the Ferrari in the final stages for a multi-lap wheel-to-wheel battle between the two lead drivers.
Verstappen was able to move past with four laps to go, and with yellow flags around the track, was able to hold the lead in the uncertain conditions to take the race victory.
"It was a tough and crazy race today," said Verstappen.
"I had a lot of fun battling with Charles again, I really enjoyed it and it’s not easy to get past him, patience is always key, especially if you want to fight for the championship"
"In the beginning it was pretty difficult to follow but I think once we swapped to the hard tyre we were able to push more and the pace was better."
"We played the long game on the tyres which seemed to pay off."
"Towards the end of the race it felt like we were doing lots of quali laps, which was intense but really cool."
"Ultimately, we were able to win and we can be very proud of that as a team."
Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc in the final stages of the Saudi Arabian grand prix. (FIA)
Sergio Perez put his Red Bull on pole position with a stunning lap on Saturday night that bested the charging Ferraris, and made a good start away from the line.
With teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz squabbling for position through turn one, World Champion Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on the outside of turn two to claim third.
The order was steady at the front until Perez pitted from the lead, seconds before Nicholas Latifi crashed and brought out the safety car.
Leclerc, Sainz, and Verstappen were able to leapfrog Perez with quicker pit stops, with Perez finishing fourth after being unable to recover the positions.
"It wasn’t easy out there, but I think we maximised all that we could today," said Verstappen of the team performance.
"It was really unlucky for Checo with the timing of the safety car but we have plenty of races ahead of us where we can make up for it."
Charles Leclerc on the podium in Jeddah. (Scuderia Ferrari)
Leclerc and Verstappen were brought even closer after a late virtual safety car when Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo suffered simultaneous power failures, stopping on track.
The battle between the leading pair was a nail-biter, with both drivers playing chicken through the final corner to arrive last at the DRS detection point and have the advantage down the main straight.
"Although I’m disappointed to lose the victory so late in the race, it feels good to be fighting for wins again," said Leclerc.
"Whenever I had a bit of margin to Max, I could manage the race well."
"But after the Virtual Safety Car, as soon as he got in the DRS range, it became difficult."
"He was fast in the straights and I was fast in the corners.
"You have to play on your strengths as much as possible when it’s this tight."
"I regained my position twice but the third time it did not work out."
"I could have possibly had another opportunity if it weren’t for the yellow flag at the end of the race, but that’s part of the game."
"It was a really fun battle!"
"I hope it stays this close for the coming races."
"It’s exciting to watch and to drive like this."
"Development will be key and we have to push hard."
Leclerc holds the lead of the championship standings on 45 points ahead of Sainz, with Verstappen third after retiring from the opening race in Bahrain.
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship returns April 8-10 at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix.
