“It was delicious”, Max Verstappen shouted over the radio after his magnificent victory in the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. The Red Bull world champion trumped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in an exciting battle on the narrow street circuit of Jeddah.
The two dueled until the finish. “We fought hard and it was a matter of a long breath. It was not easy, but in the end it worked,” said the Dutchman after his 21st victory in a Formula 1 race.
Tires
Verstappen saw that Leclerc had more and more problems with his tires towards the end of the race, although he also noticed that the rubber was wearing out faster than he would have liked. “Then I finally got the chance to attack, but it was very difficult on the straight to estimate where I could pass. It was also very exciting, because when I had overtaken him, he could still get close behind me. I am very happy with the victory, my season can really start now,” said the Limburger, who retired three laps before the end in the opening race a week ago in Bahrain and did not score any points.
Are you ready for more races like this between Red Bull and Ferrari?
Max tells more about it! #MaxVerstappen #RedBullracing #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/xbw1cl4y6u— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) March 27, 2022
Also read: Verstappen wins in Jeddah after dogged fight with Leclerc
Luck
Verstappen admitted he was a bit lucky with the safety car, which came out on track after 17 of the 50 laps due to a crash by Nicholas Latifi (Williams). “As a result, I moved from third to second place. Then I had really good speed and I could try to catch up with Leclerc,” Verstappen explained to Viaplay.
DRS
He only really got the chance to attack, when Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo’s retirements caused a so-called virtual safety car and Verstappen was able to get close enough to use his DRS. This allowed him to give extra gas on the long straight. Verstappen and Leclerc then engaged in a fascinating wheel-to-wheel battle, taking turns overtaking each other. “Leclerc was very fast through the corners and I was very fast on the straight. It wasn’t easy to get past because Charles played smart tricks in the last corner.”
How good was Max vs. Charles?! #SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/e0Tdl9Kpm5
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2022
World Cup standings
Leclerc, who won the first race, remains World Cup leader with 45 points. Sainz (33 points) also has more points than the Limburger, who does pass the Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the ranking. Hamilton was tenth in Jeddah, Russell fifth.
Australia
The still fledgling Formula 1 season will continue in two weeks with the Australian GP.