Team by team analysis of Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah’s Corniche circuit, round two of the 2022 Formula One season (teams listed in championship order):
FERRARI (Charles Leclerc 2, Carlos Sainz 3)
Championship leader Leclerc started on the front row alongside Perez and led from lap 16 before a final duel with Verstappen. The Monegasque took a bonus point for fastest lap and leads Sainz by 12 points. Sainz, third on the grid, had a scare before the start when Ferrari rushed to fix an issue with a wiring loom.
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MERCEDES (George Russell 5, Lewis Hamilton 10)
Seven times world champion Hamilton started 15th on the hard tyre after failing to get through the first phase of qualifying. The race was his 180th for Mercedes, a record for a driver with one constructor. He was unlucky not to be able to pit during the second virtual safety car period with the entry closed but said he could not keep up with Magnussen’s Ferrari-powered Haas at the end. Russell, fourth in the championship, said it was the most physical race he had ever experienced.
RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Sergio Perez 4)
Verstappen’s 21st career win and first points of the season, from fourth on the grid, lifted him to third in the championship after a blank in Bahrain. He beat Leclerc by just half a second after a thrilling battle. Perez was the first Mexican to start on pole, his first in 215 races and a record for the biggest gap between debut and first pole. He led until lap 16 when he pitted, moments before Latifi crashed and triggered the safety car that dropped him off the podium. He had to hand back a place to Sainz, passed as the Spaniard emerged from the pits.
ALPINE (Esteban Ocon 6, Fernando Alonso retired)
The pair enjoyed plenty of television coverage with a lively battle for sixth place early on until the team told them to hold position. Alonso reported a loss of power 14 laps from the end and came to a stop at the pit lane entry while in a scoring position. Ocon’s points, beating Norris to the line, lifted Alpine to fourth overall.
HAAS (Kevin Magnussen 9, Mick Schumacher did not start)
Schumacher, though unhurt, was ruled out after a qualifying crash that wrecked his car. Magnussen, 10th on the grid, scored for the second race in a row — something the U.S.-owned team last managed in 2019.
ALFA ROMEO (Guanyu Zhou 11, Valtteri Bottas retired)
Zhou was given a drive-through penalty for failing to serve a five second penalty, imposed for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while scrapping with Albon. Bottas retired in the pits on lap 38.
ALPHATAURI (Pierre Gasly 8, Yuki Tsunoda did not start)
Tsunoda did not start after losing power on his way to the grid, where he had been due to line up last after failing to set a time in qualifying. Gasly opened his account after retiring in Bahrain, but said he had been in severe discomfort in the last 15 laps and was just happy the race was over.
MCLAREN (Lando Norris 7, Daniel Ricciardo retired)
Ricciardo collected a three-place grid drop for impeding Alpine’s Ocon in qualifying and started 14th, with Norris 11th. The Australian lost drive and stopped at the pit lane entrance on lap 38 with the virtual safety car deployed as marshals pushed the McLaren clear. Norris scored McLaren’s first points of the season.
ASTON MARTIN (Nico Hulkenberg 12, Lance Stroll 13)
Hulkenberg replaced Sebastian Vettel, still out with COVID-19, for the second successive race. Stroll and Albon collided on lap 47 of 50.
WILLIAMS (Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi retired)
Latifi crashed at the last corner on lap 14, bringing out the safety car. Albon retired with a front right puncture after the clash with Stroll but was classified 14th and last.
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