Much confusion accompanied the teams and fans of Formula 1. Sergio Perez enjoyed a triumph in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Mexican overtook teammate Max Verstappen, who remained the leader of the general classification of the World Cup. The third Driver’s Award unexpectedly changed hands after the ceremony, only to return to its original owner.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the second round of the Formula 1 World Championship. The race, held in the Middle East, was won by the Mexican Sergio Perez of Red Bull. Immediately behind him, defending champion Max Verstappen came to the finish line. The podium was originally taken by Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin. Initially, because later the judges deprived the Spaniard of the hundredth podium in his career, only to return to the original result after some time.
Fernando Alonso with the raised and restored podium after the Arab Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso was forced to pass with a penalty from the start of the race. The Spaniard had to wait five seconds in the pit lane due to improper installation of the car at the start. The veteran served his sentence and drove to the end of the race, not knowing all the fuss. Together with the Red Bull drivers, he was happy to be on the podium, especially since he stood on it for the hundredth time in his career.
After the set was completed, the judges deemed the forced stop too short and the activities of the Aston Martin mechanics prohibited. They added ten seconds to Alonso’s race time, bringing him up to fourth behind George Russell. The Spaniard confidently emphasized in an interview that if he had known about the planned penalty, he would have led to a greater advantage over the British.
However, his team went to court. Representatives of Aston stressed that no one had previously been punished in a similar situation, and similar incidents have already taken place in the past. This was confirmed by the judges of the competition, who restored the original results of the Grand Prix.
F1 General Classification podium after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
After two races in the 2023 F1 season, Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen (44 points) and Sergio Perez (43 points) are in the top two positions. Alonso is in third place, fourteen points behind the reigning champions from the Netherlands. The next contest will take place in early April. The fight of the “queen of motorsport” will move to Australia.
Source: Wprost
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