Reigning world champion Max Verstappen took a stunning late win over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to take the chequered flag and secure victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Leclerc took advantage of a timely safety car following a Nicholas Latifi crash to take the lead ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who secured the first pole position of his career on Saturday. Leclerc then attempted to hold off a late charge from Verstappen to win the second race of the season, but the Dutchman snatched the victory after taking the lead with mere laps remaining.
Verstappen got off to a cracking start upon lights out, overtaking Carlos Sainz around the outside of Turn 2 as Perez held off Leclerc to remain in the lead. The Ferraris had begun to take the same line and it forced Sainz slow on entry Turn 1, with space left for the Dutchman on the inside.
George Russell put in a fine performance in his Mercedes, and made a sensational start when he passed Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for fifth. It was a great move from the Brit as he found an unlikely gap down the inside of the final hairpin - and Russell held on to finish P5.
The early goings saw a stunning battle between Alpine teammates Ocon and Fernando Alonso, with the Frenchman defending incredibly aggressively from the two-time world champion. The duo challenged one another for sixth place and Ocon made an incredibly late move to force Alonso to brake hard in order to avoid an accident that would have left the team frustrated.
Perez originally led before deciding to pit seemingly after Ferrari called Leclerc in. The Monegasque did the opposite though and stayed out to try and make the overcut work - and a stunning safety car following the Latifi crash meant Perez ultimately suffered.
The safety car came out, which meant Leclerc, Verstappen and Sainz all entered the pits and returned to the track ahead of Perez, who has to slow down behind the safety car.
It seemed as though Leclerc was going to ease his way to victory, but engine issues for Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas led to all three retiring and a virtual safety car. It allowed Verstappen a route back into the contest.
It also meant Lewis Hamilton - who started P16 after a torrid qualifying - came into pit when running in sixth to drop down to 12th. The seven-time world champion eventually secured a point with a P10 finish.
It wasn’t a good race for Alfa Romeo rookie Guanyu Zhou either, as he dropped down the order after his car appeared to go into anti-stall at the start. He was then issued multiple penalties on a day to forget in his young career.
Following the safety car restart, Verstappen was charging behind Leclerc and pressured the Ferrari for the lead. Leclerc allowed his rival to overtake him into the final corner only to use DRS effectively to regain the lead in style.
The exceptional racing was the tactic he used in Bahrain, but Verstappen came back and overtook Leclerc on the home straight to secure the win. The result means Verstappen has put points on the board after he failed to finish in Bahrain last week, while Leclerc has extended his lead atop the Drivers' Championship.
