Motorsports
Sovereign in Jeddah: Ferstappen snatched first place from Leclerc for the first win of the season
Max Ferstappen managed to claim victory in the second game of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, three laps before the final, by passing Leclerc. Saint’s podium closed while polesitter Sergio Perez finished fourth.
The second match of the year at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was agony right up to the last moment. Max Ferstappen is his winner in Jeddah, overtaking Charles Leclerc, who seemed to have the first word in the fight, with three laps to go.
Ferrari made it 2-3 in Saudi Arabia with Sainth in 3rd place to start from. Bad luck for Sergio Perez, who lost the lead when he substituted just before the safety car.
In the drivers’ standings, Leclerc is in first place with 44 points. Saint is second with 25 points while Max Ferstappen is in 3rd place with 25 points.
The league standings:
Where the win was counted
After a virtual safety car, due to the abandonment of Alonso and Ricciardo, the gap between Leclerc and Ferstappen decreased. The Dutch driver approached Monegasco and attacked.
The Ferrari driver, using his engine power but also his skills, successfully defended himself in the first phase, because although he temporarily lost the first position, he managed to regain it.
On the 47th lap, Max Ferstappen overtook Leclerc to the finish and gave his opponent no space. In fact, the Dutchman continued with faster laps and tried to increase his gap.
The phase of the game
The start at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was clear. Perez held his position with no problems while Leclerc couldn’t make a move. On the other hand, Ferstappen was able to work his way up to 3rd place and overtook Carlos Saint.
On the 15th lap, Perez came into the pits. He was unlucky coming in for a tire change just before the Latifi crash that caused the safety car. Thus, his opponents took advantage of the fact that Leclerc finished first and Ferstappen second. It was the moment that changed the dates regarding the development of the game.
Perez lost the lead of the race to a Ferrari bluff. The Scuderia brought the engineers into the pit lane and hinted that Leclerc’s pit stop for the undercut was imminent, but he soon called them back and left the pit stop to Perez alone.
What follows
After races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Formula 1 travels to Australia. It will be the first race at Albert Park since 2019 when Valteri Botas won.
The Australian Grand Prix will take place in two weeks from now on the three days from April 8th to 10th, 2022.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.