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Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
F1 Saudi Arabia GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Live updates from the Saudi Arabian GP at Jeddah
The Saudi Arabian GP follows on from a dramatic season-opener in Bahrain, where Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari 1-2 from team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr as Red Bull suffered a double retirement when both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez suffered a vacuum issue within its fuel system.
The Saudi Arabian race has already been a dramatic weekend both on and off the track, with a missile attack on a nearby oil facility creating serious talks about the race being boycotted by the drivers on Friday night. After gaining sufficient assurances from the Saudi Arabian security officials, the race weekend has continued with Red Bull’s Perez taking his maiden F1 pole position.
Mick Schumacher will miss the Saudi Arabian GP after a heavy crash in qualifying which has damaged his Haas F1 car. Sebastian Vettel is also missing for Aston Martin due to COVID-19, with Nico Hulkenberg continuing in his role as super-sub.
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"We are going Plan A, and our degradation is better than Red Bull," Leclerc's engineer says over the radio.
Hamilton, on the hards remember, gets ahead of Stroll to move up to 12th place. The less good news for him is he's already 32s off leader Perez 10 laps into this race.
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"Still on Plan B, everything's looking good," Sainz is being told. We'll see in due course what the difference between Plans A and B are at Ferrari.
Magnussen wants to join the fight further forward and tries to go around the outside of Bottas at Turn 1 but overcooks it and clatters over the kerbs at Turn 2 to hand the place back.
The Zhou vs Albon Turn 2 fight has been put under investigation by the FIA stewards.
Leclerc's been able to extend his gap over Verstappen to 2.1s, as Perez is keeping a stable gap over the Ferrari driver out in front.
Pit stop
Ricciardo has pitted early, switching his mediums for hards, so cycles to the back of the pack.
Hamilton gets by Norris at the final corner to take 11th place. He now has a three-second gap to bridge to catch Gasly.
Ocon has another go at Alonso there, but once again finds his way into the Turn 1 run-off as he overdoes it with DRS. The Alpines have cleared Bottas a bit now, but the battle might bring the Alfa driver back into play.
Penalty
Zhou has been given a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage from his battle with Albon.
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"Hold position, hold position," Ocon is told over team radio. The thing is, he can't, as Bottas with the aid of DRS charges ahead at Turn 1 and take seventh place.
No further investigation from the FIA stewards on the Alonso vs Ocon battle.
Hamilton makes quick work of overtaking Gasly for 10th place with the help of DRS along the main straight.
Just to emphasise the pace problems that Mercedes is facing, Russell's 12s behind Sainz - but 10s clear of Alonso in sixth. Toto Wolff declared it as "no man's land", and that's about the long and short of it.
Pit stop
"Box to overtake?" Leclerc asks, which Perez responds to by pitting. Gamesmanship from Ferrari to force Red Bull into stopping?
Pit stop
Stroll and Albon also pit early from the midfield and duly cycle back to the rear of the field. Still all 18 runners going who started this race.
Crash
Latifi has crashed! Virtual Safety Car deployed!
Pit stop
That's inexplicably worked wonders for Ferrari as a result - Leclerc and Sainz get very 'cheap' pitstops now, as does Verstappen who also peels in.
Crash
"I don't know what happened there man!" Latifi reports over his Williams team radio. He has hit the wall at the exit of the final corner.
Safety car
It is now a full safety car rather than a virtual one.
Safety car
With the full safety car, Leclerc leads from Verstappen! Awful luck for Perez there, who got caught out at the worst time.
Latifi appeared to grab a fistful of oversteer when getting on the power out of the final corner and trying to correct it he clatters into the wall. The Williams driver is OK and out of the car which is now being picked up by a recovery tractor.
With the flurry of safety car pitstops, Magnussen and Hamilton on the hard tyres stayed out and occupy sixth and seventh.
Pit stop
Zhou not having the best race so far. He serves the five-second time penalty during his pitstop under the safety car but loses further time when the car comes off the front jack and needs lifting up by a second jack. He is currently in 15th place.
Sainz is unhappy with Perez, whom he says pushed him off despite the Ferrari driver apparently being ahead at the pit exit line. The stewards will undoubtedly get involved here.
And indeed, the Sainz/Perez moment has been noted for a safety car infringement. Perez may have to give that back.
Safety car
The safety car is in this lap. Here we go.
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"If I was ahead at the safety car line, I should start ahead of him," Sainz reports. He's very unhappy with that at the moment.
Green flag
Leclerc holds on from Verstappen, and Perez gave up the place to Sainz there - so it's Ferrari, Red Bull, Ferrari, Red Bull.
Magnussen is in a Mercedes sandwich at the restart but holds station in sixth place for now.
Leclerc was not going to respond to Verstappen's jockeying at the restart, guiding the Red Bull driver to the marbles before taking off.
The DRS has been enabled so the overtakes may now follow after a relatively tame restart.
Stopwatch
It's a 1m34.075s on that lap for Leclerc, denying Verstappen DRS at the start of lap 23.
Hamilton dispatches Magnussen for sixth ahead of Turn 27, but the Haas driver comes back at him with DRS and reclaims the position into Turn 1!
Bottas, with the aid of DRS at Turn 1, gets by Hulkenberg for ninth place. Hulkenberg is the cork in the midfield bottle on his older hard tyres.
Stopwatch
Verstappen punches in a 1m33.445s to close in on Leclerc a little bit as we reach half-distance. Meanwhile, Hamilton now puts a move on Magnussen with DRS and makes it stick.
A lap later Hulkenberg loses another place, this time to Ocon, and duly drops to 11th.
Zhou really isn't having a good day. He is under investigation for not serving his five-second time penalty, it looks like that pitstop issue might have led to him not being stationary and untouched by his pitcrew for the full time.
Verstappen reports that Leclerc crossed the pit entry line, which you're not allowed to do unless you're pitting. We'll see if anything happens there.
Penalty
Zhou is duly given a drive through penalty for not serving his original penalty. What a nightmare for the F1 rookie.
By: autosport.com
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