Sergio Perez wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but was tricked by his teammate just before the end. Here you will find all the important voices about the race.
Jeddah – The second Formula 1 race the season is over. Unsurprisingly, Red Bull also dominated this Grand Prix with a double podium. Nevertheless, there seems to be a crisis within the team again. Both drivers’ tempers boiled over in Brazil last season when Verstappen failed to help his team-mate in the race. This time it’s about the fastest lap of the race, which Perez certainly had until shortly before the end and didn’t expect anyone to dispute it. However, he had reckoned without Max Verstappen.
| Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
| Race length: 308.45 km in 50 laps |
| Route length: 6.175 km |
| Lap record: 1:30.734 (2021, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes) |
| In the racing calendar since 2021 |
Helmut Marko: “And then Max tricked Sergio!”
In the last lap he got everything out of the car and snatched it away from the Mexican. For Perez it is clear: “We have to talk about it! Communication within the team was unclear. I was told to keep my pace and I assumed Max was told the same thing.” However, Helmut Marko poses in the interview Sky clear that Verstappen hadn’t opposed any team orders, “we didn’t give any order not to do it… and then Max tricked Sergio.”
The extra point is not unimportant for the Dutchman either – because it puts him one point ahead of Perez in the drivers’ championship in first place. Max Verstappen also makes it clear in the interview that something like qualifying in Jeddah must not happen again. “I’m not happy because I’m not here to finish second! Nevertheless, I’m obviously happy about the podium.” After Saturday (March 18), he wouldn’t have been able to do more than P2 anyway, he went on to explain.
Bitter: Fernando Alonso had to give up his 100th podium after all.
Fernando Alonso was initially delighted with his podium, only to have to hand over his third place to Russell after the celebration. However, the Spaniard didn’t lose his good mood: “It doesn’t hurt that much: I had the trophy in my hand and celebrated. Okay, then I just have three points less. In the end it was an FIA show today anyway, they could have told us much earlier.”
Alonso is referring to his 10-second penalty, which he received for having a jack touch his car while he was serving his 5-second penalty. He got this shortly after the start because he hadn’t parked his car correctly in the white lines. For the Spaniard it would have been the 100th podium of his career, but now he has to wait a little longer.
Nico Hülkenberg sees the race as eventful and positive
Also for Nico Hülkenberg the evening could have gone better. The German couldn’t assert himself against his colleague Magnussen and only ended up in 12th place, but he summed up the race like this: “Eventful, a challenging track. Sure, I’m a bit disappointed not to have scored any points, but happy to have even finished the race. All in all, it is basically positive to see that we are competitive in the midfield.” At the Grand Prix in Australia, Hülkenberg assesses Haas’ chances to be similarly good because the track also has a high proportion of high-speeds. The race takes place on April 2nd. (lhe)