Sergio Perez led nearly start to finish in winning the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, edging out his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finishing in the third and final podium position but was later assessed a 10-second post-race penalty and the third spot was awarded to Mercedes’ George Russell before Aston Martin successfully appealed and the race stewards removed the penalty.
Perez sat on pole position but Alonso squeaked by on the first corner to take the lead. However, Alonso was unable to hold the lead long as Perez passed him on the fourth lap and Alonso also incurred a five-second penalty for lining up incorrectly on the grid at the start. The post-race 10-second penalty was assessed when one of Alonso’s pit crew touched the car before the five-second penalty was over.
Once Perez passed Alonso, the only drama for the remainder of the race was Alonso’s Aston Martin teammate enduring a mechanical failure, knocking him out of the race on Lap 18 and bringing out a safety car in the process and how long it would take Verstappen to work his way through the field to a podium position, which occurred on Lap 24 when he passed Mercedes’ George Russell. Three laps later, he passed Alonso and that is how it remained for the rest of the race.
With the victory, Perez is in second place with 43 points to Verstappen’s 44 points – after Verstappen claimed the fastest lap point for the race. Alonso is a distant third with 30 points.
2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Top 10 Finishers
1] Sergio Perez – Red Bull
2] Max Verstappen – Red Bull
3] Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
4] George Russell – Mercedes
5] Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
6] Carlos Sainz, Jr. – Ferrari
7] Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
8] Esteban Ocon – Alpine
9] Pierre Gasly – Alpine
10] Kevin Magnussen – Haas
