Mexican driver Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Championship, outpacing his teammate Max Verstappen, who started from 15th place on Sunday. Verstappen, a two-time world champion, secured an additional point in the final lap by achieving the fastest lap, maintaining his lead in the driver standings with a one-point advantage over Perez.
The Mexican driver, who achieved the fifth victory of his career, stated, "I was on my way to winning last year, and now I have avenged myself." Red Bull managed to secure the top two positions for the second consecutive time, albeit in reverse order compared to the Bahrain season opener two weeks earlier.
Verstappen has 44 points compared to Perez's 43, while Fernando Alonso is third with Aston Martin, holding 30 points. Alonso crossed the finish line in third, marking what appeared to be his 100th podium, but the 41-year-old two-time world champion received a ten-second penalty, dropping him to fourth place.
Hours later, the stewards retracted the penalty after Aston Martin presented seven similar cases where teams were not penalized, allowing the Spanish driver to celebrate his achievement. With the penalty annulled, Mercedes driver George Russell returned to fourth place, while his teammate seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton settled for fifth ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished seventh, outperforming Alpine duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
