Stroll's heavy crash changes Saudi Arabian GP dynamic

A safety car was summoned on the seventh lap of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after Lance Stroll crashed heavily on the outside of Turn 22.

Stroll had been running in ninth after making an excellent start, which saw him overtake Yuki Tsunoda.

However, on the sixth lap, Stroll hit the wall on the inside of Turn 22, breaking his front-left tyre and projecting him into the barrier on the outside of the corner. In previous years, the same corner has caught out both Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher.

"I'm okay," Stroll quickly confirmed over the radio, although the Canadian looked bitterly disappointed when sitting behind the barrier.

The safety car summoned for Stroll's car to be recovered led to a flurry of pit-stops, with only Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton having opted against an early pit-stop.

Stroll was not the first driver to retire from the race, as Pierre Gasly was called into the Alpine garage to retire the car after the opening lap, due to a suspected gearbox issue.