F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Sergio Perez resists recovering Max Verstappen to claim first victory of 2023
Sergio Perez resisted a charge from Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen to claim victory at the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Mexican was in complete control under the lights in Jeddah to head home another dominant Red Bull one-two as reigning world champion Verstappen turned in a sublime recovery drive to second.
Verstappen started 15th after a driveshaft failure in qualifying but made short work of scything his way through the field to take second, having passed every car in front of him bar his teammate within 25 laps.
Having seen his recovery aided by a Safety Car, the double world champion closed to within four seconds of Perez before Verstappen's driveshaft concerns returned in the closing stages.
But the Dutchman was still able to clinch the fastest lap on the final tour to complete his charge and retain his position at the top of the world championship.
Fernando Alonso, who took the lead from Perez at the start, claimed his 100th podium finish in F1 in a distant third for Aston Martin, despite picking up a five-second time penalty for being out of position on the grid.
It was a more encouraging performance from Mercedes as George Russell beat teammate Lewis Hamilton to fourth, ahead of the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc who had no answer to the Mercedes.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were eighth and ninth for Alpine, while Kevin Magnussen beat Yuki Tsunoda to the final point on offer as he completed the top-10 for Haas.
