Saudi Grand Prix Results: Pérez and Verstappen Lead Red Bull

Pérez, who had started in pole position, lost the lead to Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin before the first turn, won it back by the fourth lap and slowly and methodically pulled away for his fifth career victory.

Verstappen, meanwhile, was picking his way through the pack behind him with ease. Told before the race of a prediction by a rival that his car was so fast that he would be “P2 by Lap 25,” Verstappen shrugged and said he would do his best.

But when the 25th lap arrived, that was right where he was: P2, or second place, with only his teammate Pérez ahead. By then the Red Bulls were cruising, and the sense of resignation about their unmatched speed — a feeling that was palpable all week in Jeddah — was spreading.

“Red Bull,” the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said before the race, “is on another planet.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/sports/autoracing/f1-saudi-grand-prix-results.html