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Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
F1 Saudi Arabian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
After Max Verstappen dominated practice, a driveshaft failure on his Red Bull dumped him out of Q2 in qualifying and means he starts the race in Jeddah from 15th place.
Team-mate Sergio Perez starts on pole, beating Charles Leclerc to top spot in qualifying, who in turn also drops down the starting order due to a 10-place grid penalty for an electrical package change following his Bahrain retirement.
Leclerc’s penalty elevates Fernando Alonso on to the front row for Aston Martin, with George Russell in third place for Mercedes.
The Saudi Arabian GP starts at 5:00pm GMT.
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Bit of a lock up there for Charles Leclerc - that won't help...
Stopwatch
Verstappen is winding up his Red Bull again, putting in another fastest lap of 1m32.382s to take two-tenths of a second out of Perez's lead.
Norris is catching former Formula 2 rival Nyck de Vries now in the battle for 15th
The Ferrari pace on the hard tyres has fallen off a cliff. Both Sainz and Leclerc are lapping slower than the frontrunners and just about keeping in touch with the Mercedes pair.
Perez is still matching Verstappen's pace, as the Red Bulls stretch clear of Alonso in third who is 6s back.
Sargeant and Hulkenberg are tussling for 12th, but the Haas driver holds on for now
Hamilton is tucked up behind team-mate Russell, who is arguing to keep his place in fourth over Mercedes team radio. What's the going rate in this bargain? First pick of the post-race ice creams?
Albon is safely back in the pits - phew!
Perez is responding to Verstappen's pace as they both produce a 1m32.8s next time around. The gap is 5.2s.
Stopwatch
Cue up the Jaws music. Verstappen sets a new fastest lap of 1m32.933s.
Albon stayed out, but he's now slowing on track - could this cause another safety car?
Alex Albon is having brake struggles as his team-mate passes him for 13th
Now it is Red Bull vs Red Bull at the front, while further back it is Mercedes vs Mercedes for fourth with Hamilton catching Russell.
Verstappen, with DRS, charges by Alonso on the main straight at the start of lap 25. Verstappen has gone from 15th to second with half of the race still remaining.
Gasly has now made it past Tsunoda for ninth, with Norris passing his team-mate for 17th
Perez is rebuilding his lead, which is up to 4.2s over Alonso, who is now being hunted by Verstappen.
Simple as you like for Verstappen. With DRS he bolts by Russell on the straight before Turn 27 and moves into the podium places.
Further back, Ocon has made it past Tsunoda, who sits in an Alpine sandwich ahead of Gasly
Verstappen has a look at Russell's inside the next time around at Turn 1 but thinks better of it, but worse news is to come for Russell as the DRS has been enabled.
Norris has gotten past Bottas for 18th and is now behind team-mate Piastri - a tough day for McLaren
Hamilton gets by Sainz on the exit of Turn 2 to take fifth place. The old switcheroo as Sainz went deep defending into Turn 1, which allows the Mercedes an easy pass.
The Red Bull is a rocket in a straight line. Verstappen, even without DRS, closes up to Russell on the straights.
De Vries drops two places behind the Williams pair, but everyone is safely through the restart
Green flag
Perez gets a mighty restart, leaving Alonso to defend from Russell, but they all get through without much drama.
So, the biggest winner in all of this is Verstappen, who had been over 20s off the leaders but is now in fourth tucked up behind the top three on equal tyres.
Leclerc is told to try and push before the safety car line, to which he tells his engineer he should have been told this sooner - an unhappy Ferrari driver, there
Norris pits again, this time for medium tyres
Safety car
The safety car is coming in at the end of this lap.
Hamilton has dropped behind Sainz again in his stop in sixth place but he's the only frontrunner on mediums and the rest are on hards. So he'll be the driver with the quicker tyres for the restart.
Luckily, Stroll managed to park his car off track, so this safety car shouldn't last too long
Pit stop
Perez, Alonso, Russell, Verstappen and Hamilton all pit under the safety car. Despite Alonso's extra five seconds due to his penalty, he still comes out in second place ahead of Russell and Verstappen.
Logan Sargeant is the last driver to pit under the safety car
Safety car
The full safety car has been called for! This shakes things up!
Yellow flag
Yellow flag as Stroll is told to stop his Aston Martin on track in Sector 2
Leclerc exits the pits ahead of Stroll in eighth - good work from Ferrari, there
Perez is creeping out his lead over Alonso, which is up to 5.3s on lap 17, as further back Leclerc pits from fourth place.
By extending Sainz's first stint, he comes out the pits ahead of Stroll into ninth place
Pit stop
Sainz is told to pit again but this time he does so, responding to Stroll's earlier stop.
Now that Leclerc and Verstappen have cleared the midfield, running in fifth and sixth respectively, they could cause a strategy headache to the leaders later on.
Pit stop
Gasly is next to pit for Alpine
By: Autosport Staff
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