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Finished in the points as a debutant: Oliver Bearman jumped into the Ferrari cockpit for Carlos Sainz, who was ill
Photo:
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Escalation averted (for now)?
"I'll carry on, yes," with these words from Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko shortly before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the situation at Red Bull seemed to calm down - at least for the race Saturday.
After Marko spoke on ORF on Friday evening about his possible suspension in the wake of the affair surrounding team boss Christian Horner, star Max Verstappen stepped into the breach for the 80-year-old.
"Without him in the team, I think there will be a problem, including for myself," the three-time world champion said - and thus warned the Red Bull bosses of possible consequences.
The entire paddock held its breath.
According to Marko, on Saturday there was a “very good conversation” with Red Bull managing director Oliver Mintzlaff, who had traveled to Jeddah.
“We agreed on all points,” said Marko on Sky, “but there has to be calm.”
However, this is not foreseeable: weeks ago, an internal investigation against Horner became known following allegations from an employee, and a power struggle is raging within the team (read more about it here).
Mintzlaff is scheduled to meet with the Thai majority owners of Red Bull in Dubai on Sunday.
These support team boss Horner.
But at least for the second race of the season, the world champion racing team pulled itself together.
The result:
And its drivers delivered: Verstappen and Pérez achieved a double success for Red Bull, Verstappen once again clearly distanced himself from his teammate by more than 13 seconds.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc followed a further five seconds behind and completed the podium.
However, another Ferrari driver caused a sensation.
Read the race report here.
The start:
Verstappen initially defended his lead, behind him Leclerc didn't get off well and had to defend himself against Pérez.
The Monegasque was initially able to defend second place, but on lap four Pérez passed with the overtaking aid DRS.
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) caught Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and was fourth.
Things went worse for Piastri's teammate Norris in sixth place; the replay showed that the Brit twitched too early and then set off too late.
However, he escaped punishment
.
He was followed by the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
At the back of the field, Nico Hülkenberg improved one position to 14th place. The German did not get past 15th place in qualifying due to technical problems.
On the lookout, in the wall:
After six laps, Verstappen had already opened up a gap of 2.6 seconds on Pérez.
He was again 1.2 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
Then Lance Stroll ended up in the wall with the Aston Martin, and the ensuing round of pit stops threw the field into disarray.
Only Norris, Hamilton, Hülkenberg and Guanyu Zhou
remained on the track during the safety car phase.
After nine laps, Verstappen, Hamilton, Pérez and Leclerc joined Norris as the new leader, who had to wait a long time in the pits with 5.3 seconds.
Piastri, Alonso, Hülkenberg, Russell and Zhou completed the top ten.
The restart:
When the race was reopened, Norris was initially able to fend off Verstappen, but only for three laps.
Then the Dutchman took off again.
Pérez first conceded to Hamilton and restored Red Bull's double lead on lap 18.
As a result, Hamilton also fell behind Leclerc with the deteriorating tires and had to defend himself against the pushing Piastri.
However, he was able to keep the Australian behind him, partly because he made a mistake and had to go into the run-off zone (lap 17).
What do you do as an 18 year old on the weekend? Drive a Ferrari!
Oliver Bearman, who was only 18 years old, celebrated his unexpected premiere in Jeddah.
The Formula 2 driver represented Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari because the Spaniard had to undergo a short-term operation due to an inflamed appendix.
Bearman put his new company car in a very good starting position eleven on Friday.
And the Brit also caused a stir in the race on the difficult street circuit when he overtook first Zhou and then Hülkenberg.
"Mate, he's so slow," he said on the radio about the German in the Haas.
"You're doing a mega job"
: When Hamilton (lap 37) and Norris (38) came to change tires, Bearman moved even further forward, the newcomer was now seventh, Norris and Hamilton had moved back in behind him.
“You’re doing a mega job,” came the encouraging message from the Ferrari radio.
Behind the two Red Bulls at the top were Leclerc, Piastri, Alonso and Russell.
And Hülkenberg also defended the last tenth place in the points because his teammate Magnussen had previously protected him as a buffer.
Bearman was able to maintain his position and finished two places ahead of Hamilton, who will move to Scuderia in 2025 after many years with Mercedes.
This means that the teenager can also add World Cup points to his application letter when he makes his debut.
In the garage, Ferrari boss John Elkann congratulated Bearman's father David, who had been repeatedly caught on camera during qualifying the day before - and appeared visibly nervous.
What's next:
Verstappen leads the World Cup standings with 51 points ahead of Pérez (36) and Leclerc (28).
The drivers now have a week's break before the third race of the season continues in Melbourne on March 24th - then again on Sunday.
You can read here why there was racing in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and everything you need to know about the new season.