On Sunday we witnessed a great race hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. One of the first street races of the season held a great performance from Red Bull, a bizarre situation for Fernando Alonso and once again a struggle for McLaren to find a good start in the 2023 season.

  • Red Bull dominate 1-2

Once again Red Bull dominated another race with a 1-2 race for the second time this season. It all starts with race winner Sergio Perez who made a great display all weekend starting on pole position for the second year running.

When it came to race day Perez led the race from Lap 4 to the checkered flag to secure Red Bull’s second win of the season and his 5th Formula One win. However his teammate Max Verstappen struggled in qualifying after an engine problem and meaning he would start the race at P15. This didn’t stop the Dutchman as throughout the race he climbed the grid to a Podium place at P2 also giving him driver of the day.

Currently, both drivers are top of the drivers championship with a point separating them due to Verstappen taking fastest lap this weekend. It doesn’t stop there as Red Bull sits on top of the Constructors championship with 87 points and a great start from last season’s champions.

  • Fernando Alonso’s podium problem

Fernando Alonso has made a great start to the Formula One season with his new team Aston Martin. This weekend it was quite bizarre situation regarding his podium place and then what happened later after the race. During the race he led from the opening lap to Lap 4 after being overtaken by the race winner Sergio Perez. He was then given a 5 second time penalty after the FIA discovered he was out of position at the start of the race. He served the penalty in the Pit Lane and continued on with his race.

He was overtaken by Max Verstappen putting him in P3 but still a position on the podium. The race was finished and celebrated his podium finish with his team and the two Red Bull drivers. After the race he was given a 10 second time penalty for failing to serve his 5 second time penalty properly meaning he would miss out on a podium and it would go to Mercedes George Russel.

Shortly after this the FIA reviewed the situation and gave only a 5 second time penalty instead of a 10 meaning he would keep hold of his podium position. Despite all the drama with the situation this was Alonso’s 100th podium in Formula One and becomes the 5th driver in Formula One history to do so.

  • McLaren’s struggles

The 2023 Formula One season hasn’t been a great start for the McLaren team as they struggle to gain points in the opening races. Despite having good talent such as Lando Norris and his new teammate Oscar Piastri they have struggled to get a good start in places