Top 3 Highlights From 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
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Another Sunday passes and another grand prix is complete! While the Saudi Arabian GP tends to offer some pretty chaotic action, I can’t help but think that this was a bit more of a toned-down take on the Jeddah Street circuit. With all that said, let’s take a look at my top 3 highlights of the race.
Max Verstappen P15-P2
It seems even a broken driveshaft on qualifying day that left Verstappen in P15 for the Sunday race can’t stop him from maneuvering his way through the field. Max Verstappen and his RB19 had a mad dash through the field in order to secure P2 by the end of the race. Only 5 seconds behind his teammate in first place. While he got minor assistance from the safety car during the race there’s no doubt that Max had an incredible drive. That being said, I’m fairly glad that he didn’t take P1 away from Checo who now appears to be a threat to Max Verstappen’s third world title.
Fernando Alonso’s Mishaps
From the very beginning of the race Fernando Alonso had the odds stacked against him. Due to an incorrect starting procedure forcing Fernando to take a 5 second penalty in the pit area, Fernando was left fighting for third place on the podium. While he secured the podium spot by the end of the race he was also denied it following further investigation. However, following this there was also a reinstated third place for Fernando Alonso. I could dive into a lot more detail for this one specifically but the fact of the matter is, the FIA’s investigation was pretty bad to begin with and left me somewhat bewildered as to how these are our race officials at this point? Where’s the consistency!?
Mercedes & Ferrari Fight For Leftovers
While Mercedes was almost always poised to be on the backfoot this season it was a bit of a surprise to see just how far Ferrari had fallen. Both teams appear to be used to seeing each others colors as they’re actively racing. These teams trade blows and consistently get into scrappy little battles with eachother but most of it is for naught because Redbull and Aston Martin so easily outclass them both that there isn’t a whole lot left to fight for. While points are still critical for the teams in a monetary sense, it’s clear that neither Mercedes or Ferrari are fighting for glory this season, at least not yet.
Final Thoughts
While I do think all 2nd, 3rd and 4th place teams will continue to catch up to Redbull by shear brainpower, I do think it’ll be a painstakingly slow process to minimize that gap that is so large. Time will tell, but for now we’ll continue to watch the Redbull domination this season and if that evolves into a fight between Sergio and Max then I suppose I’m all for it. What did you think of the 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? Leave your thoughts and comments down below to let me know what you thought!
