“Bulls” changed places – Newspaper Kommersant No. 46 (7491) of 03/20/2023

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ended with the second consecutive triumph of the Red Bull team, which again scored a double. True, in comparison with the previous stage, the bull riders changed places. The first this time was Sergio Perez, the second was Max Verstappen, who started from the last, 15th place on the starting grid. However, the technical superiority of Red Bull over rivals is now such that there is nothing surprising in this result. The third fastest was Fernando Alonso, but after the race he received a penalty and lost his place in the top 3 to George Russell.

The first stage of the season, which took place two weeks ago in Bahrain, seems to have given an exhaustive answer to the question of who has the fastest car this year. Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were out of competition, smashing both Ferrari and Mercedes head-on.

But then there was Fernando Alonso. His third place in Bahrain, the speed that the two-time world champion showed behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, gave hope that the bulls would have at least some effective opposition this season. In general, in the last two weeks, Alonso has received as much attention as he has not received, perhaps, since the mid-2000s, when he won his titles. Many were worried about the question of what could be done by a highly experienced 41-year-old Spaniard who had already seen everything in motorsport (only behind the wheel of formula cars he drove more than 90 thousand kilometers in racing mode) to impose a fight on Verstappen. But Alonso himself believed that there could be no talk of butting with the “bulls”. And this is even after it turned out that Verstappen in Jeddah will start from 15th place. His Red Bull, no matter how powerful he was, still broke during qualifying, which did not allow the Dutchman to show a good time. Verstappen reacted to this by reasoning that all this, of course, is unpleasant, but he will break through because he can do it.

The very beginning of the race gave hope that Alonso was wrong, that he overestimated his rivals. After all, the Spaniard had already passed the gaping Perez by the first turn. But the circle did not pass, as Alonso received a five-second penalty – for the wrong location of the car on the starting field. This fine, as it happened, did not have any effect on the final time of Alonso (he left it at the pit stop, when there was a safety car on the track that “devoured” all the gaps). So you should not blame the judges for ruining the battle between the Spaniard and the Mexican. Moreover, Perez, finally waking up, calmly circled the leader of Aston Martin. If Alonso has anyone to complain about, it’s his own team. After all, after the finish he was fined another 10 seconds – for the wrong serving of the first punishment. So the Spaniard’s third place at the finish line turned into fourth. George Russell made the top three instead.

It was much more interesting to watch what Verstappen was doing. He overtook everyone who just happened to be ahead. And he did it somehow mockingly prudently. Not where the enemy gave a chance, but where he wanted, knowing for sure that they would not be able to resist him. Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Russell were left behind one by one. For a couple of dozen laps to go, Verstappen got to Alonso, who was running second. And here, too, there was no struggle – Red Bull drove around Aston Martin in a straight line, simply taking advantage of the presence of a more powerful power plant.

It would probably even be beautiful if Verstappen also won this race. However, something alarmed him in the behavior of the machine, he complained to his engineer, he could not understand what was wrong. As a result, Verstappen was cautious and did not drive at full strength. Red Bull still made an attempt to ensure his victory. Pérez was told to drive about 0.4 seconds slower than the pace the Dutchman was maintaining for the lap. Such a transparent hint that Verstappen should be skipped. But after the indignation of the Mexican, he was told: “Press!” Perez did not miss his chance to win the race. Verstappen was second.

In the overall standings of the World Cup, Verstappen is still in the lead. True, he is ahead of his teammate by only one point, which he received in Jeddah for the fastest lap.

Alexander Petrov