Perez leads home a Red Bull 1-2 for the first time, Alonso finally joins the 100 podium club and Tsunoda finishes 11th for the third consecutive race. Here are the facts and statistics from the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!
PEREZ WINS THE 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
Sergio Perez took victory in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, recording the fifth win of his Formula 1 career. He’s the 55th driver to record five wins in F1.
Perez gave Red Bull their 94th victory and their second at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, making them the first team to have won at the track on multiple occasions.
Finishing on the podium for the 28th time in his career, Perez equalled Clay Regazzoni for 36th in the all-time list of most podium finishes.
Having led 47 laps of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Perez is now the driver who has led the most laps at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. He is also the first driver to have led the most laps in a single race in Jeddah and go on to win that race.
Perez has taken all five of his first Grand Prix victories from different grid slots. This was the first time he converted a pole position into a win. He is only the second driver, after John Watson, to record their first five wins from five different grid positions.
VERSTAPPEN ON THE PODIUM FROM 15th ON THE GRID
Max Verstappen finished in second place, marking the first time he has finished as runner-up – or on the podium without winning – since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen became the 14th driver to record a podium finish at a round of the World Championship from 15th on the grid. The last driver to do so was Carlos Sainz, at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
This was the first time Verstappen finished a race having started 15th on the grid. His other starts from 15th, both at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2015 and 2018, both resulted in retirements.
The driver starting 15th has never failed to score in three Saudi Arabian Grands Prix held so far.
Verstappen’s second place meant that Red Bull recorded a 1-2 finish for the second consecutive race. This was the first time the team recorded 1-2 results at consecutive events in almost 14 years. The last time they did so was at the 2009 British Grand Prix and the 2009 German Grand Prix. In total, the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix marked the team’s 24th 1-2 finish.
This was the first Red Bull 1-2 finish in which Perez finished ahead of Verstappen. The last time Red Bull recorded a 1-2 finish in a race which Verstappen did not win was at the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, won by Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull’s 1-2 finish made this only the fourth season in Formula 1 history in which a team has recorded 1-2 results at both of the first two races of the year. The other teams to have done so are Williams (in 1981 and 1992) and Mercedes (in 2019).
The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix marked Verstappen’s 21st consecutive points-scoring race. That equalled the longest finishing streak of his career. He also finished all 21 races between the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix and the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix.
This was Verstappen’s 79th podium finish, putting him one short of equalling Ayrton Senna for seventh in the all-time list of most top three results in Formula 1.
Having finished on the podium at every running of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen remains the only driver to record multiple top three finishes at the event. While Verstappen has three top three finishes in Jeddah, the other six podium finishers at the track have only one top three finish to their name.
ALONSO DENIED ENTRY TO 100 PODIUM CLUB – THEN PENALTY OVERTURNED
Fernando Alonso became the sixth driver to record 100 podium finishes in Formula 1 at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He is the first driver to achieve the feat since Kimi Raikkonen at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.
His podium finish was taken from him after the race, after stewards found him to have incorrectly served a previous penalty incorrectly. However, the decision was later appealed and Alonso’s podium was reinstated.
Alonso’s podium finish saw him join Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen as only the third driver to have a points-scoring period of over 20 years in Formula 1. The Spaniard’s latest points came 20 years and 10 days since he first scored at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso’s podiums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia mark the first time he has finished in the top five at consecutive races since the 2014 German and Hungarian Grands Prix. It’s also the first time he’s finished in the top four at two races in a row since the start of the 2014 season, plus the first time he has secured podium results at successive races since the 2013 Belgian, Italian and Singapore Grands Prix.
Alonso led three laps of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is the most laps he has led in a single race since leading 27 laps at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Alonso’s third place marked the first time he picked up points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as well as the Aston Martin team’s first points in Jeddah.
IN THE POINTS
Despite momentarily inheriting third place from Fernando Alonso, George Russell finished the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in fourth place. It’s his best result to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth place for a second consecutive race, while Pierre Gasly finished ninth for a second consecutive race.
Charles Leclerc picked up his first points of the year with a seventh place finish at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This marked the first time Leclerc finished outside of the top six in a race in which he reached the chequered flag since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon finished in eighth place, recording his worst finishing result at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to date. He had never previously finished outside of the top six. His team-mate, Pierre Gasly, also recorded his worst result to date at the track with ninth place.
This was the first time that Alpine have finished with both cars in the points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Kevin Magnussen finished in tenth place, recording his and the Haas team’s first points finish of the 2023 season. Magnussen last scored in a Grand Prix at the 2022 United States Grand Prix – though he did pick up a point in last year’s Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Magnussen maintains his 100% points-scoring record at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix having finished ninth last year.
THE OTHER FINISHERS
Yuki Tsunoda was unlucky to narrowly miss out on points once again at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He also finished 11th at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. After finishing 1.096 seconds away from a point in Bahrain, he finished 2.668 seconds away from a points finish in Saudi Arabia. It’s the third race in a row that Tsunoda finished in 11th place, having also finished 11th at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Nico Hulkenberg finished 12th in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. That’s the same position in which he finished the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Hulkenberg’s 12th place finish marked his 183rd race start without a race win. He equalled Nick Heidfeld for second in the list of most Grand Prix starts without a victory.
With Magnussen tenth and Hulkenberg 12th, this was the first time both Haas cars reached the chequered flag at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
While Tsunoda finished 11th in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries finished in 14th place. That made this the first time that AlphaTauri have failed to pick up points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri finished 15th, reaching the end of a Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
Lando Norris finished 17th for the second race in a row. This is the first time in his career that Norris has failed to score at both of the first two races of the season.
This was the first time Lando Norris failed to score at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the first time McLaren have failed to score any points at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Valtteri Bottas finished the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 18th – the lowest finishing position he has ever recorded in a Grand Prix which he has completed.
THE RETIREES
Lance Stroll was the first driver to retire from the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after being told to pull over by his team. It marked the first time that Stroll failed to reach the chequered flag in Jeddah. Despite never previously retiring, the Canadian has never scored a point at the circuit.
Stroll’s retirement marks the second time in the three races held at Jeddah Corniche Circuit that the driver who has started fifth has retired from the race.
Alex Albon was the second and final retirement from the race. Suffering a brake failure, Albon retained his 100% non-finish rate at the track, having also retired from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022.
Albon’s retirement means that Williams have recorded at least one retirement on all three visits to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. They are the only team to have done so.