Formula 1 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix results

Pirelli has been the sole provider of tyres to the series since 2011. This followed on from a one-make deal with Bridgestone, which also featured alongside Michelin in the last tyre war that ran through the mid-2000s.
While the Italian manufacturer is fully expected to apply once again and then retain the rights, the motorsport governing body has issued a customary invitation to tender for the ...

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F1 is back in Sin City! After an absence of 41 years, grand prix cars will roar up and down the dazzling streets of Las Vegas.
VISTA Las Vegas in association with McLaren offers guests a chance to overlook the track from the rooftop of the Cromwell. This exclusive party will be attended by F1 legends and celebrities, as a more exclusive way to experience F1 in Vegas.
There will be live ...

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For the second race in a row, Formula 1 witnessed a Red Bull domination, as Sergio Perez led home Max Verstappen in the third Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
But, it was a somewhat different story from Bahrain, as – for the first time in their time as team-mate's – Perez took the top spot with Verstappen just one step down. That was in large part down to the Dutchman's qualifying driveshaft ...

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Verstappen started the Jeddah race from 15th after a driveshaft failure prevented him from setting a lap time in Q2.
Thanks to Red Bull's majestic pace and a well-timed safety car, the two-time world champion sliced through the field to take second behind team-mate Sergio Perez, who executed a perfect race to win from pole.
But the Dutchman survived another driveshaft scare in the second ...

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Piastri damaged the right side of his wing when he touched Gasly's Alpine at the exit of Turn 2, and just a few hundred metres later debris flew off the Australian's car.
In a bizarre coincidence, his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris hit the debris from Piastri's car and also had to make an early stop.
Piastri had no option but to pit at the end of the first lap, while Norris initially ...

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Leader Perez and his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen were pushing hard in the final laps of the Jeddah race, with the Mexican successfully maintaining the gap.
However, Verstappen heard a strange noise which led the team to study the data for signs of a possible repeat of the Dutchman's driveshaft failure in qualifying, while Perez was worried about a long brake pedal.
It was at that point ...

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This is the full breakdown of the key moments in that timeline: from Alonso lining up in second place to gaining, losing and then finally, and officially, regaining his 100th F1 podium.
Alonso commits his crime, but does he do the time?
20:03 – Alonso completes the formation lap and lines up second alongside the Red Bull of polesitter Sergio Perez. But when he comes to a stop on the grid ...

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The Italian squad had hoped that the layout and different demands of the Jeddah circuit would allow it to pose a bigger threat to Red Bull than it was able to at F1’s season opener in Bahrain. 
However, despite Charles Leclerc managing to deliver a qualifying time good enough for the front row, the Scuderia’s race pace was lacking. 
Having initially looked strong in the early ...

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The seven-time world champion got a first-hand glimpse of the kind of advantage that Red Bull has when Max Verstappen had little problem blasting past him during his Saudi Arabian Grand Prix recovery. 
Verstappen’s climb from 15th on the grid to second place behind team-mate Sergio Perez has highlighted the advantage that Red Bull has, and does nothing to quell belief that the ...

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Alonso had initially been handed a post-race 10-second drop after a late ruling from the FIA judged that he had not correctly served an in-race penalty for starting out of his grid box.
While officials had initially deemed that Alonso’s car had been stationary for five seconds before mechanics touched it, the FIA later changed its mind.
On the last lap of the race, the stewards were asked ...

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The BT19 will join a long list of significant historic Formula 1 cars that will cut laps of a shortened version of the Adelaide street circuit.
For the first time the car will be shared by two generations of Brabhams with David Brabham and son Sam both set to spend time behind the wheel.
David's father Sir Jack Brabham drove the BT19 to both the drivers' and constructors' world championships ...

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Alfa Romeo racer Bottas has dabbled with categories beyond F1 in recent times, with the Finn contesting a variety of rallies in World Rally Championship machinery since 2019.
He also conducted a private test of the spec Extreme E car alongside double Formula E title winner Jean-Eric Vergne and nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb.
Bottas also participated in the 2023 Race of Champions in ...

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The Spaniard finished third behind Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen at the Jeddah circuit on Sunday.
However, shortly after the chequered flag, the FIA announced that Alonso had been handed a 10-second penalty for having not properly served a five-second penalty he had been given for failing to line up within his grid box earlier in the race.
This dropped Alonso from third down ...

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The Spaniard finished some 36 seconds adrift of Red Bull victor Sergio Perez in Jeddah to clock sixth place, one spot ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was recovering from a 10-place gird drop.
That penalty was earned for a change of the control electronics unit after Leclerc retired from the Bahrain season opener, while Sainz was fourth a fortnight ago as Ferrari struggled with its ...

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The Mercedes driver benefitted from Alonso's 10-second penalty, which he was handed because his pitcrew worked on his car during his pitstop before he served his full five-second penalty, which he had initially picked up for incorrectly lining up on his grid spot at the start of the race.
Alonso's second penalty, announced after the podium ceremony when he had celebrated his 100th F1 career ...

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In the final quarter of the race, Verstappen began to report vibrations around the driveshaft with concerning noises at high speed, fearing a repeat of his qualifying failure.
Perez also reported that his brake pedal was beginning to go "long", but both drivers were informed that none of the data on the pitwall was of any immediate concern to the engineers.
Verstappen was continuing to try ...

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The Aston Martin driver finished third on track, negating an initial five-second penalty for lining up incorrectly in his grid position at the start.
But, after the podium ceremony, he was given another 10-second penalty for work starting on his car when the first penalty was served in his pitstop, dropping behind George Russell and to fourth in the final results.
It duly denied Alonso his ...

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After Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin outdragged him off the startline, Perez hit the front by Lap 4 and pulled clear, as team-mate Verstappen battled back from starting 15th after a driveshaft failure in qualifying.
Verstappen charged up to fourth before benefitting from a safety car when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin ground to a halt. He quickly picked off those in front to sit behind Perez ...

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Like his former Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon in Bahrain, Alonso picked up a five-second penalty for being out of position at the start, lining up to the left of his second grid slot.
And not unlike Ocon, Alonso was investigated again for not serving his time penalty correctly during his only pitstop. 
After a lengthy delay, the FIA stewards concluded one of Alonso's mechanics was ...

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Perez crossed the line 5.3s clear of Verstappen, who spent the final laps charging his battery for a final-tour tilt at the fastest lap which was ultimately successful as he crossed the line with a 1m31.906s lap.
Perez had to overcome a setback at the start, in which Alonso trickled through into the first corner to take the lead and settled into first place.
But immediately, Alonso was ...

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Sargeant will start the Saudi Arabian GP from 20th and last place after he failed to log a lap time in Q1 following a series of mishaps.
The American had a strong first run, but his time was deleted because he'd put his left front wheel over the white line as he passed the pit entry.
On his second run, he had a spectacular spin at the high-speed Turn 22, from which he was fortunate to escape ...

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The Dutchman starts down in 15th on the grid in Jeddah after a driveshaft failure in Q2 meant he failed to make it through to the final qualifying shootout.
While a recovery from so far down the order will not be easy, the fact that Red Bull appears to have such a pace advantage over the opposition still makes Verstappen a threat to the frontrunners.
Although Verstappen himself has played ...

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Ocon was eventually withdrawn from the 2023 season-opening round in Bahrain with 16 of the 57 laps to go, the ninth-starting French driver having wound up running in a distant 17th place.
This came as a legacy of copping a litany of penalties, triggered by Ocon pulling up in his grid box with his front-right tyre over the painted lines to earn a five-second penalty.
However ...

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Leclerc earned second place in Jeddah while Sainz was over half a second behind in fifth.
However, the Spaniard will start fourth as Leclerc drops to 12th thanks to his power unit grid penalty.
Sainz said he struggled with the SF-23 in the first sector of the lap.
"In FP3 I was feeling OK and I had a decent feeling with the car," he said when asked by Motorsport.com about the qualifying ...

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Formula 1’s second race of the season at the Jeddah street circuit has forced everyone to opt for different downforce and drag levels to ensure they are better suited for the weekend’s top-speed demands.
However, that has not stopped squads also start looking at wider developments to their cars as they bid to make progress over the remainder of the season. 
Here we take a look at ...

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Norris tagged the inside concrete wall through the final corner of the Jeddah street circuit to sustain a broken steering arm that forced him to pit for repairs after only one flying lap.
The team battled to repair the car in time for Norris during the opening 18-minute segment but narrowly missed the window to leave the Briton to start from 19th place.
Norris explained the error away as ...

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Aston Martin was the surprise package of the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month, with Alonso taking a podium on his first race with the Silverstone team.
But with pre-season testing also taking place at the abrasive Sakhir circuit, teams only received a partial picture of one single race track, and Alonso said Aston came to the second race in Jeddah with "some question marks" about whether ...

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The German car manufacturer has committed to an action plan that will trigger a change of concept as it moves away from the ‘zeropod’ idea that it has raced with since the start of last season. 
And while it knows that it will take a long time for it to make the progress it thinks is necessary to be fighting right at the front, Mercedes has offered some encouraging news for drivers ...

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The runaway winner in Bahrain a fortnight previously had taken a clean sweep across the practice sessions, ending the three hours of running with a cumulative advantage of 1.3s.
However, after topping Q1 by an imperious 0.483s over team-mate and eventual polesitter Sergio Perez, his RB19 hit trouble with the right-rear failure as he emerged from Turn 10.
That forced the defending champion ...

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McLaren looked good in Saturday’s FP3 session after overnight changes, with Lando Norris seventh and Piastri backing him up in eighth.
Norris’s qualifying session was ruined by contact with the wall in Q1 but Piastri made it through to Q3 and earned a solid ninth place.
That will translate into eighth on the final grid for his second F1 start thanks to a penalty for Charles ...

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Red Bull's Sergio Perez will line up on pole position after topping Saturday's qualifying session in Jeddah. He will be joined on the front row by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, with George Russell (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) next up in third and fourth position respectively.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen will take the start from 15th place after suffering a driveshaft issue in ...

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Perez will start ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and George Russell (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
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F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Perez grabs pole as Verstappen hits trouble
Verstappen: "Anything is possible" from 15th in Saudi F1 ...

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After spending the winter hoping it would be able to close the gap to Red Bull, Mercedes instead found itself further adrift in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, slipping to being the fourth-quickest team behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
 



But, while Russell still qualified behind a car from each of those teams in Jeddah, setting the fourth-fastest time six ...

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Ocon ran to a strong sixth in qualifying, lapping the Jeddah street circuit 0.813 seconds adrift of polesitter Sergio Perez, who led the Red Bull charge following a driveshaft failure for Max Verstappen.
Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, was a further 0.3s slower to clock ninth place.
Despite track modifications for 2023, including pushing back the walls to open select corners ...

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Hamilton qualified eighth in Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, on a day when his team-mate George Russell gave the struggling team a boost with fourth place. Both will move up a place on the starting grid due to Charles Leclerc's penalty.
Asked by Motorsport.com if Russell’s performance had been encouraging, Hamilton said: “Of course, George did a great job. So great, great ...

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The double world champion set the third fastest time in qualifying, 0.465 seconds away from Perez's ultimate pace, but will move up to the front row on the grid as Charles Leclerc will cop at least a 10-place grid penalty for taking on new control electronics.
Despite a solid qualifying result, the consensus is that Aston Martin is much stronger in race trim, and Alonso explained that general ...

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While Leclerc has come into the Jeddah weekend knowing that he faced a 10-place grid penalty, it still meant he had to push things to the max to ensure he did not start too far down the order.
But while he got within 0.15 seconds of Perez as he finished qualifying in second, the weekend has not delivered much cause for optimism for the Monegasque.
With Ferrari having not appeared to have the ...

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The Dutchman had reeled off the fastest lap times in all three practice sessions, and had headed Q1 by half a second over team-mate Perez as the result of qualifying appeared to be a foregone conclusion.
Verstappen suffered a slide on his first bid to set a competitive lap in Q2 and backed out of it to prepare for another effort but, as he spooled up, lost drive during the middle sector ...

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On his first run in Q2 Verstappen suddenly slowed in the second sector of Jeddah's Corniche street circuit.
The Dutchman notified his team of a possible engine issue, but after he made it back to the Red Bull garage the team confirmed he was hit by a driveshaft problem. As he hadn't set a time yet, that meant the world champion finished Q2 in 15th place.
Verstappen, who won the ...

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