Red Bull wins the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the second round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship, took place last weekend, and Max Verstappen finished one-two for Red Bull Racing.

Teammate Sergio Perez finished second, about 13 seconds behind Verstappen, but he received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release when he nearly crashed into Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso during an early pit stop. Third place at the Jeddah Corniche circuit went to Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, finishing 18 seconds behind the winner.

As in the season opener in Bahrain a week earlier, Verstappen led the race from pole position, while Perez, starting from third on the grid, quickly passed Leclerc, who joined Verstappen at the start. Leclerc fought back and took over second place by the fourth corner. However, a few laps later Perez regained the position with the help of DRS.

On lap 7, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll hit the wall and crashed into the barriers. He was unhurt, but the race was stopped when the safety car was brought in. At this point, most of the leaders, including the two Red Bulls, pitted.

After emerging, Verstappen was briefly behind McLaren's Lando Norris, who was still on his first set of tires, but reigning world champion Perez passed him on lap 13 as the fresh tires warmed up. Perez also passed Norris a few laps later, and from there the two Red Bulls opened up a gap.

The battle for third place was still raging, but Norris finally relinquished his position to Leclerc about two-thirds of the way into the race. Leclerc, in his Ferrari, then increased his pace and set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap.

Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman impressed in his debut race, finishing seventh overall and scoring his first points. He filled in for Carlos Sainz, who missed the race due to appendicitis.

After last weekend, Verstappen leads the 2024 drivers' championship with 51 points. Perez is second with 36 points and Leclerc has overtaken Sainz to take third with 28 points. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull leads with 87 points, followed by Ferrari with 49 and McLaren with 28. The next race is the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.

Below are the complete results for the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

1) Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 2) Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +13.643 seconds 3) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +18.639 seconds 4) Oscar Piatri (McLaren) +32.007s 5) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +35.759s 6) George Russell (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +39.936s 7) Oliver Bearman (Ferrari) +42.679s 8) Lando Norris (McLaren) +45.708s 9) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz AMG) +47.391s 10) Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +76.996s 11) Alexander Albon (Williams) +88.354s 12) Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +105.737 seconds 13) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1 lap 14) Logan Sergeant, Williams +1 lap 15) Hiroki Kakuda, RB +1 lap 16) Daniel Ricciardo, RB +1 lap 17) Valtteri Bottas, Sauber +1 lap 18) Guan Yu Zhou, Sauber +1 lap NC) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin - DNF NC) Pierre Gasly, Alpine - DNF [19]