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Saudi Arabia Grand Prix 2023 The latest F1 news about the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix will take place on 19 March 2023. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be the venue for the second race of the season.

Round two: F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

For round two of the Formula One World Championship, Verstappen & co stayed in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix took place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit over the weekend of 17-19 March.

Catch-up race for Verstappen and De Vries

Both Max Verstappen and Nyck de Vries had a big job to do during Sunday. Verstappen started 15th after stalling in qualifying due to a problem with his RB19's drive system. Nyck de Vries fell just short of advancing to Q2 in qualifying, leading to the Dutch driver starting his race from eighteenth place.

Alonso off to a good start, Pérez chasing

Due to a Charles Leclerc penalty, Fernando Alonso moved up to spot two on the grid. The only competitor ahead of the Spaniard was polesitter Sergio Pérez. After the start lights went out, Alonso got away better than Pérez, allowing the two-time world champion to take the lead at turn one. However, this was short-lived: Alonso could not match Pérez's much faster Red Bull car in his Aston Martin. In addition, Alonso received a five-second time penalty for not setting up his car properly before the start. The Spaniard submitted his penalty during his first pit stop.

Another difficult race for McLaren

As in Bahrain, McLaren had a difficult weekend in Jeddah. Lando Norris hit the wall during qualifying, causing him to start at the back of the race. Teammate Oscar Piastri's weekend looked brighter at first glance, as he gave McLaren a top-ten qualifying finish. Unfortunately for him, his car sustained damage on the first lap of the race, quickly dropping him to last position. The McLaren duo eventually finished outside the points (place 15 and 17).

Strong weekend for Alpine, Mercedes maximises

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon enjoyed a fine weekend in Saudi Arabia. The two Frenchmen finished in places eight and nine. Mercedes also scored quite a few points. George Russell crossed the finish line in fourth place, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton. However, the British could not keep up with the pace of both Red Bull and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.

Ferrari not in desired position

It was a difficult weekend in the Middle East for both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Leclerc started in 12th place at the hands of a penalty and finished seventh. Teammate Carlos Sainz started from fourth, but fell back to sixth position during the race.

Stroll and Albon went home early

While Fernando Alonso had an extremely strong race, luck was not on the side of teammate Lance Stroll. The Canadian - after a good start - dropped out on lap eighteen with an engine problem. Alexander Albon also parked his car before the end of the race: the Thai's Williams suffered brake problems.

The same faces on the podium as in Bahrain

Even though it was in a different order, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso were also on the podium in Jeddah. Perez won the race, Max Verstappen crossed the finish line in second place after a strong race full over overtaking. Alonso gave Aston Martin a second trophy this season. The Spanish driver crossed the finish line in third place. Shortly after the race, Alonso had to relinquish his trophy to George Russell for allegedly not submitting his five-second penalty properly. This was reversed in the hours after the race, which made Alonso regain his third place.

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