Red Bull Goes 1-2, With Sergio Pérez in First This Time

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 picking up about a second a lap on the field, and the sense of resignation about the unmatched speed of Verstappen and Pérez — a feeling that was palpable all week in Jeddah — was sure to spread.

“Red Bull is in another league,” Alonso said before the race. No, the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc corrected. Red Bull, he said, “is on another planet.”

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