A great last minute pass from Max Verstappen – defeated Charles Leclerc and drove to victory

Red Bull stable Max Verstappen won the second Formula 1 race of the season in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Verstappen defeated Ferrari in a fierce battle for Jeddah on the street Charles Leclercin. In the finish, the difference between the two was half a second.

Verstappen passed Leclerc just over three laps before the goal.

Ferrari came in third Carlos Sainz. Started from the pole position Sergio Perez was the fourth.

Valtteri Bottas had to suspend.

You can read more about the progress of the F1 race and the drivers’ comments can be found in the F1 follow-up. You can access it from this link.

Last year, the first F1 race in history was run on the cramped, fast-paced street track in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the time, the race included a scrap rally, a re-start and a criticized referee game.

Now the race progressed very calmly compared to that.

Sergio Perez kept his place in the lead from the start. The situation changed in round 16 after Williams Nicholas Latifi slammed into the wall.

Perez had already made a pit stop before Latif left. When a safety car came on the track, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen got to make their depot stop so they could get back on the track in front of Perez.

The following changes were seen in laps 36 and 37. Three cars were virtually interrupted at the same time by technical problems: Alfa Romeon Valtteri Bottas, Alpine Fernando Alonso and McLaren Daniel Ricciardo. The race of Bottas, who had a great race weekend and was in good points, ended sadly.

– What a miracle happens, cars stop as if someone pressed on the remote control, wondered Viaplay’s expert Toni Vilander.

After the race, Bottas revealed to Viaplay that he had to stop when the engine heat rose rapidly and there was no desire to endanger the engine.

Ricciardo’s car froze on the track, so a virtual safety car was needed. As the safety car left the track, a fierce victory battle began in the last eight laps.

At first, Verstappen passed Leclerc, but the next round Leclerc acknowledged. That’s where the cat and mouse game started, until Verstappen struck again. Verstappen finally rose to the top with just over three laps left.

In the final round, Leclerc challenged, but Verstappen lasted.

The whole weekend was in trouble for Mercedes Lewis Hamilton was only tenth in the final results.

After two races, Leclerc leads the World Series with 45 points. Sainz (33 points) is second. Verstappen, who suspended in the opening race of the season, is third (25 points).

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas is ninth in the World Series with eight points.

The season continues in Australia from 8-10. April.