Saudi Arabian GP Takeaways: Checo punches back, Verstappen 'not happy'

Following each race weekend this year, theScore’s editors will offer their takeaways. We continue the 2023 schedule with the Saudi Arabian GP.

Checo makes statement, Verstappen responds

After securing the fifth victory of his career and first of the season, it’s becoming clear that barring any unexpected leaps from others around the grid, Sergio Perez will be Max Verstappen’s biggest legitimate title rival.

It was a masterclass drive from Perez, who’s no stranger to ruling street circuits like Jeddah. He nabbed pole position Saturday before fending off Fernando Alonso and his teammate, who finished second after starting 15th. Perez undoubtedly benefited from Verstappen’s low starting position, which was caused by a driveshaft issue, but he deserves credit for keeping pace with the reigning world champion once he arrived on the scene. The gap between the two hovered around five seconds for the majority of the final stages and there was little management for the majority of that period.

“I think, personally, that was probably (Perez’s) best ever race,” team principal Christian Horner said. “Managing the pace, the restart, the pace that he had and those guys were going absolutely flat out until we thought we had an issue with Max. Then we looked at all the data, checked the data, it was fine and then again they’re flat out, hard at it again.”

Of course, Perez shouldn’t count on reliability problems for the Dutch pilot every weekend, which is why it was so crucial to see him match his teammate’s times at the end. That bodes well for some potentially close racing at the front, and if you believe Horner, there won’t be any internal voices stopping the two from battling on track.

“We’ve got a great car and two great drivers,” Horner added. “We talked about it in the briefing earlier, that you are free to race but keep it clean.”

So, what could we be in store if the two bulls cross paths? Sunday’s race provided a glimpse with a memorable moment between Verstappen and his race engineer. The 25-year-old asked for the fastest lap time so he could snatch the extra point away from Perez, which would keep him ahead of his teammate in the championship. When Verstappen was told not to worry about it, he shot back with an all-time response. Even with a 1-2 finish all but secured and 21 more races to go, Verstappen could not bare the thought of sitting second in a title fight, regardless if it was mostly due to no fault of his own. So, naturally he did what a two-time cutthroat world champion like himself would do, setting the fastest lap on the final lap of the race to take back the championship lead by one point.

Sunday was a typical day at the office for Verstappen, who seems destined to always be in contention for wins no matter where he starts. By the midway point he was already up to second, but by then, Perez had him covered. While most drivers would be elated with that kind of progress, Verstappen was not pleased. Not a surprise considering he’s the same guy who’s won from 14th and 10th in the past, but with Perez now in the championship discussion and reliability issues plaguing Verstappen’s weekend, the champion made it known that he’s not interested in consolation prizes.

“Personally, I’m not happy,” Verstappen said. “I’m not here to be second, especially when you’re working very hard also back at the factory to make sure that you arrive here in a good state. Basically, you know, making sure that everything is spot on and then you have to do a recovery race – which I like, I don’t mind doing it – but when you’re fighting for a championship, and especially it looks like it’s between two cars, you have to make sure the two cars are reliable.”

Red Bull’s reliability problems have forced Verstappen to take notice of his early title rival. And if Sunday’s race was a true indicator of Perez’s confidence in the RB19, and not false optimism like seen early in 2022, then the veteran pilot might be the sport’s best hope at stopping Verstappen from driving off into the distance. For now, Perez made a case to the world and his team that he can hang with the champ, while Verstappen responded that he’s not going to take his foot off the gas for anyone. – Daniel Valente

Aston Martin, FIA need to clean things up

Last race, it was Alpine looking amateurish by incurring penalties. This time, it’s the newly aspirational Aston Martin.

This early in the year, it seems like it’s going to be a runaway for Red Bull. But, if there’s one team that seems like they can hang with the reigning champs, it’s Aston, led by Fernando Alonso. So, potentially costing their former champ key points in the standings is a tough look.

As with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon at Bahrain, Alonso started from an incorrect grid position, which he seemed to benefit from, exiting Turn 1 ahead of pole-sitter Perez. The comparison with his former Alpine teammate continues, as Alonso attempted to serve the penalty during a pitstop, but the crew was initially deemed to begin working on the car before the full five seconds was served.

Interestingly, though, it took until after the race – a full 35 laps later plus the time to arrange the post-race celebrations – for the FIA to notice the violation, temporarily stripping Alonso’s result before eventually reinstating the legend’s 100th podium finish.

“I think it’s more the FIA poor show today rather than disappointment for ourselves,” the 41-year-old said of the governing body, before Aston’s appeal of the decision. “You cannot apply a penalty 35 laps after a pitstop. They had enough time to really inform (us) about the penalty. Today, (F1) didn’t put a good show for our fans.”

Regardless of the FIA rectifying it’s mistake, these are things Aston has to avoid moving forward. There is absolutely no margin for error for any team that hopes to compete with Red Bull. And even if Aston is willing to capitulate the title to Red Bull this early – and it seems like many teams already are – there’s not a lot of wiggle room at the top of the midfield either.

Alonso’s penalty and the subsequent infraction by the Aston pit crew were very avoidable. And while the team made it out unscathed thanks to the appeal, these are mistakes a team with championship aspirations just doesn’t make. An ascendant team like Aston can learn from these things, though, but given their early-season pace, they should also be learning these lessons while outperforming Mercedes. Instead, thanks to these gaffes in tandem with Lance Stroll’s DNF, they sit tied with the Silver Arrows heading toward the third instalment of the season. – Michael Bradburn

Saudi GP needs tweaking

In theory, the fastest street circuit ever fashioned should make for a thrilling race. Drivers spend roughly 80% of each lap in Saudi Arabia at full throttle, blistering around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and taking many of the 27 corners flat out. There’s virtually no margin for error – a staple of every street circuit – lest you connect with the wall. In theory, the track checks all the necessary boxes.

“We don’t want Mickey Mouse circuits. We don’t want those old classic street circuits with 90 degree turns,” Ross Brawn, F1’s former managing director of motorsport, said in 2021 ahead of the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “We want fast sweeping circuits, circuits which are going to challenge the drivers – and they are going to love it – and we want circuits where we can have wheel to wheel racing.”

Well, he got some of that right.

Jeddah challenges the drivers and flows beautifully, particularly in Sector 2, with its succession of high-speed kinks. When a driver hooks up a perfect lap along the coast of the Red Sea, it’s a sight. The problem, though, is that the narrow circuit shines more in qualifying than it does in the race. It’s tailored to a one-lap sprint, not a 50-lap marathon where overtaking opportunities are limited to DRS zones and the threat of DRS “trains” looms large. Charles Leclerc warned about that possibility prior to the race, and his concerns proved prescient as a cluster of drivers got caught in those queues both off the start and when the action resumed after the safety car that Lance Stroll triggered.

Even the safety car restart, which compresses the pack and usually injects instant action, failed to generate much excitement. If anything, it neutered the intriguing storylines that were bubbling in the race. Saudi Arabia doesn’t have the lustre – or, obviously, the history – of Monaco, another circuit infamous for limited action during the race. What it does have is a 15-year contract with Formula 1 and a sponsorship deal through state-owned oil company Aramco.

We have seen great individual battles on this circuit in the past – Verstappen against Hamilton and Leclerc in consecutive years, for instance – but on this evidence, even with closer wheel-to-wheel racing, Saudi Arabia isn’t exactly a must-see event on the F1 calendar. – Gianluca Nesci

Ferrari falling behind

A major shakeup at the top of Ferrari was supposed to take the team to the next level, but through two races, it appears the Scuderia are moving backwards.

Leclerc and Carlos Sainz combined for a race win, four podiums, and 78 points after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races last season. This time around, the duo have just 26 points after finishing fourth, sixth, and seventh, to go along with a retirement.

“We were the fourth-fastest car on track,” Sainz said Sunday following a sixth-place finish.

Ferrari were optimistic of getting back on the podium heading into the weekend, but things went downhill early when Leclerc, who was forced to retire in Bahrain, took a 10-place grid penalty for making changes to his power unit. Leclerc managed the race well, advancing up as high as seventh, but wasn’t able to extract anything more out of the car on the straights or in the corners.

“Honestly, I don’t think there was much more in the car today,” Leclerc said. “We just need to work to find some pace.”

New team principal Frederic Vasseur was brought in in-part to clear up the constant communication issues that plagued the side in recent years. But on Sunday, Leclerc was caught over team radio voicing his frustration once again with the team’s decision making.

Ferrari looked like true title contenders last season, but it’s evident early on that’s not only no longer the case, but they’ve been surpassed in on-track performance by both Aston Martin and Mercedes. Factor in the expected blunders and reliability issues, and it will be interesting to see how each driver feels about their future with the team in their penultimate season under contract. – Brandon Wile

Some optimism from Mercedes

The extra week break following the Bahrain GP seemed to help clear some of the dark clouds hanging over the Mercedes garage.

Things were pretty doom and gloom for Toto Wolff’s team after the season opener, but a fourth- and fifth-place finish in Saudi Arabia seemed to help boost some spirits, even if Mercedes remains miles behind Red Bull.

“We are seeing some performance gains which is nice and encouraging,” Wolff said.

George Russell rebounded with a solid race – even temporarily finding himself swapping places on the podium with Alonso before that decision was rightfully corrected. It marked the seventh time Russell has finished just off the podium since joining Mercedes, and third time in four races – dating back to last season – that he’s beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton.

“We’ve got to take the positives out of this weekend,” Russell said. “We qualified ahead of a Ferrari and Aston Martin. We finished ahead of both Ferraris on merit. We had better pace than them. We know we’ve got a lot of performance in the pocket to come. Our goal isn’t just to beat Ferrari, but to fight for championships.”

Wolff was extremely disappointed with the car’s performance after Bahrain, stating that the team was forced to look at “radical” changes. Some improvements seem to already have been made.

Despite a pair of podiums for Alonso, Mercedes and Aston Martin sit tied for second in the constructors. Even when things go wrong, reliability remains Mercedes’ calling card. The team only had two retirements all of last season, and while Ferrari dealt with grid penalties in Saudi Arabia, and Aston Martin watched one of its cars DNF, Mercedes continues to see both cars cross the finish line with points. Banking points now is important, with the hope that the team back at the factory can improve the car with upgrades throughout the season.

“Yeah, we’re first loser,” Wolff joked when asked about his thoughts about currently occupying second spot in the standings. “We’re making elephant-sized steps going forward. It’s a super fun journey to climb back.” – Wile

Are McLaren really this bad?

It was another brutal weekend at the track for McLaren that started with a glimmer of promise which was quickly tugged away.

Because there’s so little of it to focus on, let’s start with the good, and that entirely revolves around Oscar Piastri’s Saturday.

This weekend, the Australian got to finally show off what earned him his seat. And, if we remember, Piastri had his choice of two F1 seats as well; something not afforded to every rookie. The 21-year-old not only made it out of Q1, he made it all the way to Q3 and, on top of that, out-qualified Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the final round. It’s an incredibly impressive showing for someone in his second-career race weekend, and in a car that has not otherwise made it beyond Q2.

But the silver linings stop there.

Lando Norris had to bow out in Q1 after complaining of steering issues and hitting the wall at Turn 27. Making matters worse, Norris finished 17th in the race – second-last of the drivers who actually finished, only beating Valtteri Bottas. Entering this season, Norris hadn’t finished worse than 15th in a race he wasn’t forced to retire in since his rookie year in 2019. He’s now done that in back-to-back events.

Piastri, who races in the same machinery, wasn’t the only rookie to best Norris either, as the Brit finished lower than AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Williams’ Logan Sargeant.

Both McLaren drivers dealt with front-wing damage, which hampered them early on, but even when the car was fully operational, it’s clear the drivers aren’t getting much performance. Whatever the problem is at McLaren, it’s becoming obvious that Daniel Ricciardo wasn’t it.

“We’re way too slow on the straights,” Norris said, referencing his inability to pass Sargeant even with DRS.

McLaren is now one of only two teams with zero points on the season, tied for last with AlphaTauri, who entered the year with no expectations at all beyond making sure sophomore Yuki Tsunoda takes a step forward.

“Tough race after an unlucky start with damage to both cars on the opening lap,” CEO Zak Brown said after the second incredibly disappointing showing in as many races. He showed some optimism about getting the “season back on track in Australia” though, which represents Piastri’s home race. – Bradburn