Red Bull is definitely in another dimension. Following Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez’s season-opening double in Bahrain, Saudi Arabian Grand PrixThe action-packed 23-weekend second run of the most ambitious calendar in Formula 1 history confirmed the dominance of those from Milton Keynes and repeated the same scenario in Jeddah albeit in reverse order, a major victory for the Mexican, fifth on his account. With a clear disadvantage against the RB19 top speed, Fernando Alonso managed to make the most of his Aston Martin and once again finished third in the contention, “best of the rest”. The 100th podium of his career in F1 confirms the expectations of the Spaniard and his new team, despite losing due to suspension after the race, but those at Silverstone suffered their first reliability fail with Lance Stroll’s abandonment. .
trick and penalty
“Let’s see if I can hold back this lion”, Sergio Pérez said before the race, referring to Alonso. The Mexican author of the pole did not trust the two-time Spanish champion, who started second on the grid for the first time since Canada 2022. And his suspicions were completely justified. When the traffic lights went out, the Asturian won the game. Checo tried to close him, but Fernando was leading into the first corner. FIA officials destroyed his climb at the start by announcing a 5″ penalty for “wrong position”. It didn’t matter. As soon as he had DRS, Pérez’s Red Bull passed him like an ‘airplane’. Alonso, already waiting for this, followed the planned scenario and tried to stick with RB19 to distance himself from third-place Russell, thereby easing the penalty on his first stop.
Behind him, two of the big favourites, Leclerc and Verstappen arrived in offensive mode. coming back from behind the grill. Monegasque chose a different tire strategy than the rest of its competitors and started with soft tyres. After receiving a penalty from 12th on the grid for resorting to the third electronic control unit, the Ferrari driver caught up with teammate Carlos Sainz in just fourteen laps. For Verstappen, who started in 15th place after an untimely technical failure in the 2nd session on Saturday, it was enough to take the podium with the mid-size Pirellis, which was the choice of the majority at the start.
Verstappen’s ‘ride’
A safety car caused by Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll’s failure at the Aston Martin on lap 18 brought the peloton back together and damaged Ferrari as Leclerc and Sainz had made their “pit stops”. The race restarted with 30 laps left. and I’m thinking of an approach to stop. Red Bull’s new low downforce package for Jeddah gave Pérez “wings” and was devastating in his climb to champion Verstappen. While Hamilton was describing Sainz, the only one of the favourites, Max gave Russell a great attack. In the middle of the race, the Red Bulls were a ‘steamroller’ and only Alonso resisted in the battle followed by two Mercedes.
Without team orders, unthinkable at this point in the championship, Pérez and Verstappen both gave a lively pulse on the way to the second double of the season for Red Bull, rolling, lapsing and stroking the walls at impressive speed. . Alonso couldn’t match the ‘heart attack’ of the two men who came before him, but he managed to keep Russell at bay and confirm he is still the best on the track after the ‘untouchable’ Red Bull. So when Verstappen warned that there was something wrong with his car with ten laps to go, Fernando caught the ‘smell of blood’ and multiplied behind the wheel. It was a mirage. Pérez and Verstappen took the top two places on the podium, and Alonso was once again the best of the ‘mortals’. He even allowed him to increase his income at Russell to 5,138 after being warned on the radio that he could face an additional 5″ penalty at the end of the race.
After the second Grand Prix of the season, Ferrari’s sentiments were much less positive. If in Bahrain they suffered more than anyone else from deterioration in Arabia with a less aggressive asphalt and a configuration that supports them on paper, Neither Sainz nor Leclerc achieved their goals. The man from Madrid finished sixth and Leclerc seventh. Another disappointment in Maranello.
Aston Martin “works anywhere”
Results aside, the best news for Aston Martin and Alonso is the performance of the AMR23 on two completely different circuits, Bahrain and Arabia. “The winter tests and the first race were in Bahrain and we did very well., but we hadn’t tested the car on another track, so it was important to come to Jeddah and see if we were still strong. We are, and it’s a huge relief and extra motivation for the team because the car works everywhere.” In fact, Fernando is trying to set the real goals for this season “much more precisely” for the next race, in a special setting like Albert Park in Melbourne. He warned that he would serve.