Max Verstappen Overtakes Leclerc to Win Saudi Arabian GP

Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on Sunday.

Only two races into the 2022 Formula One season and the battle between Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was in full swing in the closing laps of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who won his first Formula One championship last year, and Leclerc overtook each other in a classic battle on Sunday that saw the duo battling for first before Verstappen passed Leclerc with three laps to go to earn his 21st career win.

Verstappen and Leclerc, who were rivals while competing in kart, went toe-to-toe in what was one of the greatest battles in recent memory. Both the Red Bull of Verstappen and the Ferrari of Leclerc relied on DNS to battle each other, but it was Leclerc who finally succumbed to the pressure.

“Every battle is different,” Verstappen said. “It’s just smart racing and good racing. It was not easy but a lot of fun.”

While the day was eventful for Ferrari and Red Bull, Canada’s Nicholas Latifi ended his day with he came into contact with the barriers on lap 16, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll managed to cross the line in 13th.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has many in attendance on edge after Yemen’s Houthi rebels has attacked a nearby oil depot. This led to race officials and Saudi government officials assuring F1 that safety measures were in place and that the safety of teams and drivers would not be compromised.

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Unfortunately, the race failed to provide Mercedes with any answers in their bid to close the gap and catch up with Ferrari and Red Bull. That doesn’t help Lewis Hamilton, who has a record 103 wins in F1, in his bid to win an eighth world championship.

“It’s gutting but we’ll keep working hard and keep fighting, that’s all we can do,” Hamilton said. “Right now we’re not fighting for the top. We’re so far off the guys ahead. It feels like a long, long way away.”

Leclerc, who won the season opener in Bahrain, hoped to record back-to-back victories. While he came close and had to settle for second, he acknowledged his rival on the radio and gave him a thumbs up at the end of the race. Leclerc also acknowledged the two are taking risks and have earned each other’s respect.

“We’ve been pushing like I’ve rarely pushed before, we take risks. Of course there’s respect,” Leclerc said. “It was hard racing but fair. Every race should be like this. It was fun.”

The race was also intense and saw multiple retirements, including McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo exiting after he had a power failure. That resulted in a virtual safety car deployment that allowed Verstappen to catch up to Leclerc with eight laps.

As the race went green, the epic battle got underway with Verstappen overtaking Leclerc at the end of lap 42 on the outside, and moments later, Leclerc retook the lead going into turn 1 on lap 43. The Dutchman attempted another pass on lap 44 while on the DRS line, a move Leclerc defended, causing both to have to lock their brakes.

However, on lap 47, Verstappen made a clean pass and gained the distance needed to hold off the Ferrari. The loss caused Leclerc to lose out on his fourth career win by a half second, but he managed to hold on to the lead in the standings. After two races, Leclerc sits with 45 points while teammate Carlos Sainz has Verstappen has 33, and Verstappen has 25.

With Carlos Sainz finishing in third, it gave Ferrari its second double podium finish this season, while the win for Verstappen was the first podium result this season after both Red Bull’s retired early from the season opener in Bahrain.

Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, managed to pull off a fantastic fourth place finish after he and Carlos Sainz were cleared by race stewards for failing to slow enough while the race was under caution after Lance Stroll and Alex Albon collided on the 49th lap.

Albon, who was blamed for the accident, was hit with a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix in April. Fortunately for Mercedes, George Russel was able to finish in fifth ahead on teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished tenth.

The fifth place finish managed to keep Mercedes one point ahead of Red Bull in the constructor’s championship. However, it was evident that Mercedes remained off the pace as Hamilton started fifteenth on the grid, and it wasn’t until the 14th lap before Hamilton was able to get up into tenth place, the same position he finished the race.

“We’re still really down on speed,” Hamilton said. “It’s not just one fix, it’s several things.”

Formula One will now head down under for the Australian Grand Prix before moving the F1 schedule arrives in Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. For race fans, this is a season that will surely see more epic battles the likes we haven’t seen since the days of Michael Schumacher.

Author Hey all! My name is Doug Hirdle, and I am the main author at Betting.ca. As a huge sports fan, for years I have thought about running a website that’s going to provide people with the latest news from the world of sports. However, watching sports is not my only passion, as I also love...