Red Bull continued their dominant start to the season with a second successive one-two finish as Sergio Perez claimed victory ahead of teammate Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah.
Fernando Alonso finished third on the track for Aston Martin but was relegated to fourth after receiving a ten second penalty for an incorrectly served penalty, meaning Mercedes’ George Russell finished in the final podium position.
Having lost the lead at the start to Alonso, race winner Perez retook the lead on lap four and never looked back as he cruised to his fifth career victory.
Verstappen meanwhile sliced through the field having started 15th on the grid and worked his way up to second place after a Safety Car was brought out by Lance Stroll after he stopped on the track on lap 18.
He had no match for Perez’s pace but the Dutchman was able to claim the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to ensure he maintains his championship lead heading in to the next round in Australia.
Lewis Hamilton finished in a quiet fifth place having struggled early on with Mercedes opting for the hard tyre but was able to stay ahead of the two Ferrari's of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc who will be disappointed with their performance in Jeddah.
Story of the race
A frantic opening lap saw Alonso jump Perez at the start and reach turn one in the lead before he received a five second time penalty for incorrectly positioning his car in the grid box at the end of the formation lap.
The Mexican driver wasn’t behind for long though as he swept around the outside of Alonso at the first corner on lap four.
The gap between the leading two remained consistently under a second for a number of laps, highlighting the immense race pace that Aston Martin have in their car in 2023.
Leclerc in the Ferrari showed good early pace having started on the soft tyres and orchestrated overtakes on both Pierre Gasly and Hamilton but failed to make any inroads after the Safety Car period.
The Safety Car came out after Stroll stopped his car at the Turn 13 hairpin, allowing all of the leaders to pit and crucially allow Max Verstappen to close the pit stop long gap that had developed to his teammate in the lead.
The reigning world champion then made swift work of clearing Russell and Alonso before maintaining a five second gap to Perez all the way to the finish.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Red Bull though as both drivers reported issues with their cars in the final laps, but both were able to successfully nurse their cars home.
The best racing was found five laps before the chequered flag as Yuki Tsunoda and Kevin Magnussen battled ferociously for the final points paying position, with the Danish driver ultimately coming out on top.
Magnussen finished 10th for Haas behind the two Alpines of Ocon and Gasly who showed good pace throughout the race.
Further down the order, McLaren’s dismal start to the 2023 season continued as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris failed to overcome early contact and finished well outside of the points.
Despite high hopes prior to pre-season testing, the team from Woking remain pointless after the opening two races and appear to be well off the pace.
Sunday’s race was Formula One’s third visit to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, dubbed the fastest street circuit in the world, after thrilling races in both 2021 and 2022.
The 2023 Formula One season will continue in a fortnight’s time with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Red Bull have struggled at Albert Park in previous years, only ever winning one race at the circuit in 2011.