F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix results, standings as Max Verstappen dominates, Oliver Bearman shines on debut | Sporting News (2024)

Max Verstappen made it two wins from two for the 2024 Formula 1 season as he romped to victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman was in clinical form in Friday's qualifyingto take pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez, and once he came through Turn 1 in front of the Ferrari, victory seemed firmly in his hands on Saturday.

A safety car after just seven laps threatened to upset Verstappen's control, though, with the majority of the field pitting for fresh tyres after race speed was restricted as Lance Stroll's Aston Martin was cleared from the circuit. Stroll clipped the same section of wall he did during practice and ploughed headlong into a barrier but thankfully walked away unhurt.

MORE: F1 2024 standings

F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix results and standings

F1 grid order:

1. Verstappen (Red Bull),2. Leclerc (Ferrari), 3. Perez (Red Bull), 4. Alonso (Aston Martin), 5. Piastri (McLaren), 6. Norris (McLaren), 7. Russell (Mercedes), 8. Hamilton (Mercedes), 9. Tsunoda (RB), 10. Stroll (Aston Martin)

11. Bearman (Ferrari), 12. Albon (Williams), 13. Magnussen (Haas), 14. Ricciardo (RB), 15. Hulkenberg (Haas),16. Bottas (Kick Sauber), 17. Ocon (Alpine), 18. Gasly (Alpine), 19. Sargeant (Williams), 20. Zhou (Kick Sauber)

Lando Norris stole in front and held off Verstappen for a few turns after the safety car returned to the pits, but when the Red Bull found the McLaren's slip stream, there was nothing to be done.

Verstappen eased through the remainder of the neon-lit night in Jeddah to take his 100th F1 podium and ninth consecutive race win, with Perez, victor here a year ago, winning the battle against Lerclec to make it a Red Bull one-two.

The drive of the day belonged to debutant Oliver Bearman, replacing Carlos Sainz this week after the Spaniard had appendix surgery. The teenager raced fearlessly and had enough nous to hold off the pressure of Norris and Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages to claim a phenomenal seventh place.

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Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix analysis

Verstappen reigns supreme even amid Red Bull quit threat

Verstappen has shown little sign of the situation at Red Bull throwing him off his game. The allegations around team principal Christian Horner, denied by the 50-year-old and dismissed by the company following an investigation, has cast a cloud over the start of the season even amid the team's sustained level of dominance.

Reports emerged after qualifying on Friday that Helmut Marko, the veteran motorsport adviser at Red Bull, could see his position come under threat after an investigation into his alleged role in the leaking of information about the Horner case. Verstappen had suggested his own future at Red Bull was tied to that of the 80-year-old, who insisted prior to Saturday's race that he would stay with the team following a "good conversation" with Red Bull sports CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

This feels like a saga that has a little way to run, but if Marko remains in his position, it's hard to see Verstappen allowing anything to disrupt his rhythm.

Sainz watches on as Bearman shines under Jeddah lights

It was incredible to see Carlos Sainz in attendance at the grand prix, barely 24 hours after undergoing appendicitis surgery. The Spaniard came to watch his stand-in, Oliver Bearman, produce an F1 debut to remember.

Having qualified in P11, the British teenager proved there was no nervousness to speak of as he launched a bold overtaking move on Yuki Tsunoda. Indeed, Bearman was at the heart of the best racing of the night, with five or six drivers all battling for the final points positions behind George Russell in sixth.

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton threatened a late charge for the top seven after switching to soft compounds for the closing stages, but Bearman was impeccable in looking after his own tyres and sustaining a big enough gap to keep the pressure off his rear wing.

It was a fully deserved Driver of the Day performance, and likely the first of a highly promising F1 career.

Who else could it be?! @OllieBearman is your #F1DriverOfTheDay 🤩#F1 #SaudiArabianGP @salesforce pic.twitter.com/6PTzrvblhP

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix live updates, results, highlights from 2024 race

Max Verstappen wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!

The world champion wins his ninth consecutive race and records his 100th podium in F1, and once again, it was a routine drive for the majority of the night. Sergio Perez takes second, with Leclerc completing the podium.

OLIVER BEARMAN IS SEVENTH ON HIS F1 DEBUT! Amazing performance. Norris takes P8, having held off Hamilton. Hulkenberg rounds out the top 10.

Lap 50: Hamilton and Norris are still battling for eighth, while Bearman isn't out of the woods yet...

Lap 49:We're moments from the chequered flag and a Red Bull one-two. The rest of the points positions seem largely set at this stage, too. We're in "qualifying mode", as Alonso described it about three laps ago. Daniel Ricciardo has spun, but he's still 16th.

Lap 46:Hamilton is doing his utmost to close to within striking distance of Norris. Is there enough time? Can Bearman hold on to seventh?

Lap 43:Zhou has to pit with a problem, He's back out on soft tyres, so he can give a go at getting the fastest lap.

Lap 41:The stewards have noted an instance of Norris weaving on the straight to block Hamilton's advances. That's a black-and-white flag coming. If he does it again, he'll be in trouble. Meanwhile, Bearman might be 4.3 seconds ahead of Norris, but the gap is closing. Ferrari believe he'll be caught in four laps...

Lap 39:Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race! He's putting those fresh softs to good use. Norris still has a gap of just over a second to the Mercedes, though.

Lap 37:Hamilton pits for fresh tyres at last and will go for softs for the final 13 laps. He's driven really well to put himself in a position for the points.

Lap 35:Piastri does it again! With Hamilton's tyres giving up the ghost, the McLaren flies down the outside but runs wide at the turn, so he has to give up track position once more. Can he make the next one stick?

Lap 33:This battle at the back end is quite something. The broadcasters have barely focused on Verstappen or the leaders for five or six laps now. Bearman is still on course for a top-10 finish, although he's got four seconds to make up on Russell if he wants P8 or higher.

LAP 32/50

Magnussen (P12) has a train of cars behind him and they can't get past!

All the while he's helping his team mate Hulkenberg (P10) build up a gap so the German can pit and not lose track position 👏#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/0PGDuL9jzw

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

Lap 30:Verstappen's lead is now at 7.5 seconds. Further down the grid, Tsunoda spots an opportunity after Magnussen locks up, but he makes a mess of the double-hander and drops down to P14. Oops.

Lap 26:Bearman, Hulkenberg, Zhou and Magnussen are in a four-way tussle for the top 10. Hulkenberg and Zhou are on medium compounds and you sense they won't have much life left if this battle continues. Meanwhile, Leclerc regains P3 from Norris — cool as you like from the Ferrari.

Lap 23:Verstappen, in news that will likely amaze everyone, is stretching his lead. His advantage over Perez is now more than six and a half seconds, while Perez has nearly six seconds on Norris in third. The real battle right now is for fifth place, with Hamilton still just about holding off Piastri.

LAP 24/50

Hamilton defends ✋ Piastri attacks ⚔️

The Briton is hanging onto P5 for now#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/0sKrU4StmO

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

Lap 20:"Mate, he's so slow!" says Oliver Bearman as he closes down Nico Hulkenberg, who seems to be struggling after getting something stuck under his chassis. Bearman soon sprints past him into ninth!

Lap 17:Piastri dives down the outside of Hamilton and is forced wide over the turn. He takes track position but gives it straight back to avoid a penalty. Hamilton is having to battle to hold on to fifth place, though.

Lap 15:Norris will face no further action for that possible jump start. Alonso radios in to task if there's a "plan B" because "they're in another league". Presumably he's talking about the McLarens. Meanwhile, Perez has been given a five-second time penalty for that unsafe release that nearly took out Alonso.

Lap 13:Verstappen retakes the lead! Norris just had no answer down the home straight. Perez has also taken P3 back from Hamilton and is closing the gap to the McLaren in second.

Lap 11:"What is he doing?" says an annoyed Alex Albon after Kevin Magnussen clips his front wing. The Perez-Alonso pit-lane incident is now being investigated by the stewards.

LAP 12/50

Stewards are looking at this 👀

Albon suffers front wing damage following contact with Magnussen #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/zwPhiTSs8j

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

Lap 9:The safety car is in and we're racing again. Verstappen is straight up the back of Lando Norris, who holds off the champion at Turn 1.

Lap 8:Lots of cars are pitting under the safety car — so many, in fact, that Alonso was stuck in the pits for eight seconds while they waited for clear track to release him. He very nearly collided with the back of a Red Bull! It hasn't cost him much in terms of track position.

Lap 7:Stroll hits the barriers andwe have a safety car. The Aston Martin is off the circuit but it's jammed in the wall in a potentially risky area. Stroll is walking away unhurt. It looks like he clipped the same wall he did in practice and promptly went head first into the barrier.

Lap 6:Alonso is closing the gap to Piastri in a relatively empty area of the circuit. That could be an intriguing battle today. Perez has put more than a second between himself and Leclerc, with the running order now starting to settle down a bit.

Lap 4:Perez takes P2! He goes up the inside of Leclerc again, and this time, he makes it stick. The Red Bull just had too much straight-line speed with that DRS in effect. Verstappen's lead is already over 2.3 seconds.

LAP 4/50

Perez ducks down the inside of Leclerc in the run down to Turn 1

Checo's P2 now#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/yBfN7pMzs8

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

Lap 3:DRS comes into play. Bearman and Tsunoda are still having a real battle, while Oscar Piastri has overtaken Fernando Alonso. It was George Russell who accused Lando Norris of a jump start, and judging by the camera on board the McLaren, it definitely looks like he did.

Lap 1:Perez gets in front of Leclerc into Turn 1, but the Ferrari takes back P2! Brilliant early racing here in Jeddah. His teammate Oliver Bearman is already making moves on Yuki Tsunoda. Pierre Gasly is having to pit with a problem already, and there's a suggestion of a false start. What a beginning here!

LIGHTS OUT!

It's go, go, go at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!

5 mins to go:The formation lap is underway and we're moments from the start...

10 mins to lights out:Oliver Bearman is currently getting his mic sorted and helmet in place. He seems fairly relaxed given the occasion.

20 mins to lights out:The grid is still packed with mechanics and hangers-on. Lewis Hamilton's car is undergoing a fair amount of work, under the (very) watchful eye of the FIA. AJ is hoping for quite a show today.

Knockout to see you, @anthonyjoshua 🥊#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/LooQ1EddeX

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

40 mins to lights out:There's some stardust in the air: Anthony Joshua has arrived, fresh from his emphatic knockout of Francis Ngannou in Riyadh overnight, while Jose Mourinho is also around the paddock.

And, remarkably, Carlos Sainz is here, a day after appendix surgery!

Wow 🤯

Carlos Sainz, just hours after surgery for appendicitis, is back at the track. Take it easy, Carlos 😍#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/LdirmWU3lx

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

50 mins to lights out:Marko has himself spoken and insisted he is not going to be suspended by the company.

"We had a discussion and we decided these rumours were spread out and had no legal background," Marko said after a "good conversation" with Red Bull's sports CEO Oliver Mintzlaff.

Asked if he was going to be suspended, Marko replied: "No, no, no. If someone has this wish or idea, there was no legal basis. I think our goal is to win the championship, fourth time with Max, and for that we all have to work together."

1 hour to lights out:We've got just an hour to go until the race gets underway. The build-up to the race is, again, being dominated by Red Bull's activities away from the track. Amid speculation that Helmut Marko could be leaving the team, Verstappen told Sky Sports when asked if his future could be tied to the 80-year-old:"I've always said that to the team, they know that."

Marko is reportedly at risk of suspension by Red Bull amid an investigation into possible information leak around the Christian Horner probe.

1 hour 30 mins to lights out:What a day this is for Oliver Bearman: making his F1 race debut under the neon lights of this street circuit in Jeddah. Carlos Sainz, recovering in hospital, will no doubt be watching on.

SAINZ 2️⃣ - 0️⃣ APPENDICITIS

Thanks everyone for your messages these past 24h. I really feel your support.❤️ pic.twitter.com/y88CYxI7n6

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) March 9, 2024

2 hours prior to lights out: Fernando Alonso arrives in style for today's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He might need a couple of extra wheels.

Lovin' the scooter, @alo_oficial 🛴🤩#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/MQjicpBQQ5

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 9, 2024

F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix grid, qualifying recap

Max Verstappen was once again clinical as he took pole position for Saturday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. On the day of the heavyweight contest between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou in the same country, this was very much a case of throwing power punches at the right time by Red Bull's unstoppable world champion: each hot lap was delivered with unerring precision around the tight corners of this winding track and its neon surroundings, and each time, he seemed to time his runs perfectly to sour any optimism within the chasing pack.

Alonso on the second row, Bearman starting from P11 in his first F1 race 💪

Expect the unexpected on the charge down to Turn 1 in Jeddah 🍿#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/kZTOdH8PID

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2024

F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prixrace time

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