Formula 1 – Max Verstappen wins Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after epic battle with Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen held off Charles Leclerc to win in Saudi Arabia Sergio Perez got off to a great start from pole and was extending his margin over Charles Leclerc. As the pit-window opened on lap 15, Ferrari appeared to be readying for a stop. Red Bull responded and pit Perez from the lead, but Leclerc stayed out.

Half a lap later, the safety car was deployed after Nicholas Latifi crashed at the hairpin. Ad/> The two Alpine’s swapped positions for numerous laps, which allowed the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and the HAAS of Kevin Magnussen to close in, making it a four-way battle for sixth. Saudi Arabian Grand PrixHamilton aiming to pass 'as many as I can' with 'undriveable' Mercedes2 HOURS AGO Esteban Ocon tried to go around the outside of his more experienced team-mate, Fernando Alonso going into turn one but missed his braking point and had to cut turn two.

He gave the position back to Alonso but in turn also nearly let Bottas through. The restart saw Leclerc escape up the road and set fastest lap after fastest lap, as Max Verstappen was told to look after his tyres through the high-speed turns. After a late virtual safety car period due to Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso’s retirements, Verstappen closed the gap and finally got the move done just four laps from the end, slip-streaming his way past the Ferrari on the main straight with the aid of DRS.