Max Verstappen sauntered to a second win in Formula 1 in 2024 on a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend which saw one sensational rookie make their debut in unfavourable circumstances.
Saturday night’s race saw several standout performances, however, some of the series’ veteran drivers were unable to make a mark at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Max Verstappen: 9.5
Qualified: P1, Race: P1
Max Verstappen’s Saudi Arabian GP weekend was pretty much perfect. The Dutchman stormed to pole on Friday with a three-tenth buffer to closest rival Charles Leclerc.
The race itself was business as usual for the infallible Red Bull driver, barring a brief relegation to second place after an early Safety Car.
He then breezed past Lando Norris on Lap 13 to reclaim the top spot before managing his pace to canter to another effortless victory.
Sergio Perez: 7
Qualified: P3, Race: P2
Sergio Perez failed to put his RB20 on the front row in qualifying, losing that honour to Leclerc by a margin of 0.016s.
However, Perez was quick to return the Red Bull to its rightful place when he overtook the Ferrari on Lap 4.
Unlike in Bahrain, Perez was able to exhibit strong race pace on Saturday to take the flag eight seconds behind Verstappen prior to a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.
All in all, a better weekend for the Mexican driver who has played an important role in securing back-to-back 1-2 finishes for the reigning champions.
Charles Leclerc: 8.5
Qualified: P3, Race: P2
On a weekend where it always seemed inevitable that Red Bull would at least occupy the top spot, preventing any other outcome was to be a challenge for Leclerc.
The Monegasque was once again exceptional in qualifying to split the Red Bull pair but was ultimately powerless when it came to keeping Perez at bay on Saturday.
Unable to hang onto the Red Bull’s coattails, Leclerc found himself in a class of his own but a step ahead of the remainder of the chasing field, also setting the fastest lap.
Oliver Bearman: 9
Qualified: P11, Race: P7
The Saudi Arabian GP was a whirlwind weekend for Oliver Bearman. Having stormed to a Formula 2 pole, the Ferrari reserve was called up to replace the unwell Carlos Sainz.
Bearman’s first outing in the SF-24 came in FP3 and, despite the very limited track time, the 18-year-old stunned in qualifying after just missing out on a Q3 appearance on debut.
If missing out on Q3 by half-a-tenth wasn’t enough of a statement for the rookie, he did well to drive his way forward on Saturday.
After passing Yuki Tsuunoda and Guanyu Zhou, he enjoyed a battle with Nico Hulkenberg and held his own in keeping Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton at arm’s length in the closing laps of the race.
Yes, the car was capable of more but, given the circumstances, Bearman delivered an excellent debut performance with maturity and confidence beyond his years.
Oscar Piastri: 8
Qualified: P5, Race: P4
Oscar Piastri pipped McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to fifth in qualifying which set him on course to be the lead papaya car home in Jeddah.
Piastri duly passed Fernando Alonso on Lap 2 with a sweeping move around the outside of Turn 1. Afforded strategic priority under the early Safety Car, bolting on a set of Hard tyres.
In the mid-phase of the race, he struggled to pass Hamilton who was yet to pit. Hamilton’s late stop promoted Piastri to fourth and despite his difficulty in passing, the McLaren driver should be buoyed by his efforts.
Lando Norris: 7
Qualified: P6, Race: P8
Lando Norris escaped a penalty for a jumpstart as his forward lurch failed to trigger the FIA’s transponders. The Briton was fortunate to have not been handed what appeared to be a clear penalty but was instead hurt by the timing of the Safety Car.
By not pitting, Norris inherited the race lead but was sentenced to a long first stint on the Medium compound.
Norris’ hold on the lead was shortlived and the Briton would later be shown a black and white flag for weaving while defending against the chasing Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso: 8
Qualified: P4, Race: P5
Fernando Alonso’s practice showings suggested that he would be in the mix in Friday’s qualifying session and that he was. The two-time champion found himself fourth on the grid and with a qualifying time some seven-tenths faster than his team-mate Lance Stroll.
The Jeddah layout exposed Aston Martin’s straight-line deficit as Alonso was left a sitting duck when Piastri passed on Lap 2.
Alonso was one of many to pit under the Safety Car triggered by Stroll’s crash but the two-time champion would not be able to reel in Piastri. However, he would keep George Russell at a distance throughout the race to claim a strong P5.
Lance Stroll: 3
Qualified: P10, Race: DNF
Across all three days in Jeddah, Lance Stroll never looked at ease. The Candian had brushed the barriers in practice at Turn 22, setting up a cagey qualifying outing for the Canadian.
While he found the pace within the AMR24 to make Q3, Stroll was unable to bring himself on par with Alonso, ending qualifying seven-tenths adrift of his team-mate, and failing to improve on his best Q1 lap-time.
Stroll’s race was shortlived as he crashed out on Lap 6 after making heavy contact with the inside barrier at Turn 22 once again.
It’s now Stroll’s eighth year in F1. It may be a slight error or misjudgement, but not one made by a now F1 veteran.
George Russell: 7
Qualified: P7, Race: P6
Of the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell was once again most at home in the W15.
Qualifying a tenth-of-a-second faster than Hamilton, Russell too benefited from strategic priority under Safety Car.
Russell emerged behind Alonso where he remained for the rest of the race. Mercedes suffered in the high-speed segments of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit which limited progress in race conditions and dirty air.
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Qualified: P8, Race: P9
Qualifying eighth meant that Hamilton was forced to stay out under the Safety Car as to not be hampered by double stacking behind Russell.
However, it was clear that some of the issues that hampered Mercedes over the past couple of years remain in the W15.
Hamilton complained of bouncing in the high-speed complexes and was never able to find the same level of comfort behind the wheel as his team-mate.
Still, he was able to fend off Piastri until his long-awaited pit stop but was unable to close the gap to Lando Norris who was also on the alternate strategy.
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Qualified: P15, Race: P10
Nico Hulkenberg was forced to stop on circuit during Q2 after encountering a fuel system issue, but walked miraculously left the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend with a point thanks to team-mate Kevin Magnussen’s efforts as Haas’ rear gunner.
Hulkenberg too stayed out on track under the Safety Car after which Haas were able to engineer the German a free pitstop in the extremely close midfield battle.
While Magnussen’s involvement is largely to be credited, Hulkenberg managed his own race well to drive his way back into the points and claim a small victory for the Amercian outfit.
Kevin Magnussen: 6
Qualified: P13, Race: P12
Despite missing his final push-lap, Magnussen did well to claim 13th on the grid for Haas.
Pitting under Safety Car to fit the Hard tyres, Magnussen’s first third of the race was troubled, picking up two ten-second penalties; one for squeezing Albon, and another for an illegal overtake on Yuki Tsunoda.
20 seconds of penalties meant that points were off the cards for the Dane, however he played the team game perfectly to hold back the field and build a buffer to Hulkenberg which proved decisive in Haas picking up its first point of the year.
Alex Albon: 6
Qualified: P12, Race: P11
Alex Albon fell behind Magnussen at the race start and picked up wing damage after being squeezed by the Haas not long after the restart.
Without the same top speed advantage as in 2023 and still carrying damage, Albon struggled to dispatch of the Haas at the head of the midfield train.
Overtakes on Tsunoda and Ocon in the closing stages saw him move into 11th, however points were left out of reach thanks to Magnussen’s staunch defence.
Logan Sargeant: 4.5
Qualified: P19, Race: P15
It was another tough weekend for Logan Sargeant who was out-qualified by his team-mate by four-tenths of a second after failing to get his tyres into the right window.
Contact with the barriers in FP3 saw Sargeant sit out the majority of final practice leading the American driver to struggle with tyre and race management on Saturday.
Sargeant also struggled to overtake, getting caught behind and dropping off the rear of Albon’s damaged sister Williams.
Esteban Ocon: 6
Qualified: P17, Race: 13
Alpine suffered another double elimination in Q1 and a point-less weekend in Jeddah.
However, Ocon drove well under the lights after an early pit-stop and was the sole running Alpine following Pierre Gasly’s early retirement.
Year-on-year, Alpine took a step backwards in Saudi Arabia yet Ocon found himself fighting among the midfield runners in Magnussen’s train.
Ocon outperformed his machinery in beating the Saubers, RBs and Sargeant over the line but it will take some luck and fortune to drag the A524 into the points.
Pierre Gasly: 5
Qualified: P18, Race: DNF
A Q1 elimination followed by a gearbox issue on the formation lap contributed to a nightmare weekend for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
The Frenchman said he was unable to engage sixth gear en route to the grid yet still took the start before retiring one lap later.
Yuki Tsunoda: 5
Qualified: P9, Race: P14
Tsunoda qualified strongly, making RBs first Q3 appearance of 2024. However, he picked up a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from the garage before the race had even begun, putting him on the backfoot immediately.
Tsunoda dropped down the order in the Magnussen train in what wasn’t an entirely convincing race day, although he clearly had the edge over his team-mate.
Daniel Ricciardo: 4
Qualified: P14, Race: P16
On the other side of the RB garage, Daniel Ricciardo was comprehensively outperformed by Tsunoda in qualifying and failed to turn the tide in the race.
Ricciardo has long been considered the favourite to threaten and replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, but the Australian’s Saudi Arabian weekend was one to forget.
Double stacking behind Tsunoda under Safety Car saw him fall to the rear before getting caught in the train. Ricciardo threw himself into a late race spin to boot, crossing the line 15s behind his team-mate.
Valtteri Bottas: 4.5
Qualified: P16, Race: P17
Starting from 16th, Bottas was able to ditch his Soft compound tyres early under the Safety Car, emerging on the Medium compound.
However, Bottas suffered from tyre wear and was forced to stop again on Lap 35 for a second set of Softs while Sauber team-mate Guanyu Zhou was still on the Medium rubber on which he started the race.
Sauber and Bottas were unable to make an impression in the race despite the two stints on the Softs and will need to make a considerable leap to get in the mix amongst the rest of the lower order.
Guanyu Zhou: 5
Qualified: P20, Race: P18
A sizeable shunt in FP3 meant that Zhou was unable to set a lap in qualifying. Sauber had hoped that a long stint on the Mediums would bring Zhou into contention.
Zhou’s pace in the race was respectable, but ultimately his weekend came undone with his FP3 accident.
Since, as you say, Perez had a better weekend, how did you manage to give him a lower score than last week?