Max Verstappen Wins The FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2024!
After a thrilling 50 laps, magnificent Max Verstappen won the FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday evening. He stood on the podium for the 100th time in his career alongside his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez and third-placed Charles Leclerc. Verstappen’s winning margin was over 13 seconds after his team-mate picked up a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in his pitstop.
But it was Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Oliver Bearman that won the fan-vote Driver of the Day for seventh place on his Formula 1 debut, finishing ahead of his compatriots Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. The latter two decided not to pit when the race’s one and only Safety Car was deployed on lap six and ran a longer stint on their medium tyres. Lance Stroll was unhurt after crashing his Aston Martin at Turn 22 which led to the appearance of the Safety Car.
Stroll’s team-mate Fernando Alonso held off Mercedes’ George Russell for fifth but finished one place of an impressive Oscar Piastri in an exciting race that entertained the capacity crowd in Jeddah.
Earlier in the day an emotional Enzo Fittipaldi won his first Formula 2 Feature race, securing victory with a brilliant overtake six laps from the chequered flag. Pole man Kush Maini took second while Dennis Hauger dramatically stole third place by 0.031s in a drag to the line out of the final corner.
After failing to slow down after the chequered flag and completing an extra lap, Doriane Pin was stripped of victory in the F1 Academy Series, with Abbi Pulling inheriting the race two win. Wildcard entry Reema Juffali was unfortunate to hit the wall by avoiding a car facing backwards in the middle of the track and sadly the Saudi Arabian was forced to retire.
After the on-track excitement had ended, fans were treated to a showstopping concert on the JCC Main Stage by global superstars Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys and Martin Garrix bringing the fourth successive FORMULA 1 STC SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX weekend to a thrilling conclusion!
To discover more about the FORMULA 1 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX 2024, please visit www.saudiarabiangp.com.