Ferrari’s 18-year-old F1 debutant Oliver Bearman was striking with his maturity.
Red Bull Max Verstappen cruised to an easy victory in the second round of the F1 season in Saudi Arabia. The first place was Verstappen’s ninth in a row, when last season’s races are also included.
Sergio Perez brought the Austrian team a second consecutive double victory by overtaking Ferrari at the start of the race Charles Leclerc during pit stops. Leclerc took his first podium of the season, being third.
Verstappen, who started from the pole position, had to fight for his place only in the first half of the race, when he passed the McLaren that stayed on the track in second place after the pit stops by Lando Norris behind.
Shortly after the restart, however, Verstappen passed Norris really easily. The safety car came onto the track when the Canadian from Aston Martin crashed Lance Stroll scrambled to the ramparts.
The 25-year-old Canadian skier, already in his eighth season, made his own driving mistake by touching the wall from which he bounced into the rampart. His father Lanwrence the Lance boy, who drives in a team he partly owns, has had a reputation as a questionable driver for a long time.
Last season, he was one of the worst disappointments in the series, being completely without a podium place in a very competitive Aston Martin car. Experienced 42-year-old team mate Fernando Alonso on the other hand, achieved eight podium places and was no less than fourth in the drivers’ World Championship points.
The point difference between the two was huge in Alonso’s favor, 132 points, so Stroll had a serious place to look in the mirror.
Ferrari’s super promise enchanted
Having had an appendix operation Carlos Sainz An 18-year-old driving a Ferrari Oliver Bearman drove a good, intact race and with his seventh place brought the Italian team six valuable World Championship points.
Born in 2005, the British driver became the third youngest F1 driver of all time. Only Verstappen and Stroll have debuted younger than him.
Bearman, who started from grid 11, took the RB team ahead of him in the opening lap Yuki Tsunoda with. Japan’s Tsunoda is known as a driver who doesn’t give up an inch, but Bearman fought back aggressively. Hits were avoided, however.
Bearman will next continue in the F2 series, where he was originally scheduled to drive this weekend. He would have started today’s race in the series from the pole position.
Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was second to last 17th among those who finished.