Key events
Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: provisional top 10
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2 Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
6 George Russell (Mercedes)
7 Oliver Bearman (Ferrari)
8 Lando Norris (McLaren)
9 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
10 Nico Hülkenberg (Haas)
Oliver Bearman takes seventh spot for Ferrari on debut
That is a sensational debut. They are absolutely beaming in the Ferrari garage.
Max Verstappen wins the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
Easy. Pérez second. Leclerc third. But we’re not done …
Lap 50/50: Hamilton is closer to Norris than Norris is to Bearman. It’s looking like Verstappen, Pérez, Leclerc up front. Let’s see about lower down …
Lap 49/50: Verstappen isn’t in trouble, to be clear. The gap to Pérez has grown to 7.4sec.
Lap 48/50: 12km to go. Bearman still has daylight. 2.3sec over Norris as he holds that seventh spot.
Lap 47/50: 18km to go. They will eat that distance up in no time. Red Bull will take the honours but they’re looking like having company for media attention if the standings remain as they are. Ferrari fans will be absolutely buzzing about this – Leclerc third, but Bearman seventh as things stand.
Lap 46/50: Pérez has suddenly taken a couple of seconds out of Verstappen – possibly a bit of engine-insurance driving from the world champion?
Bearman is looking like having company for the last few laps. The gap to Norris is coming down fast.
Lap 45/50: Five to go! Bearman ticks another lap off safely. 3sec ahead of Norris … but the gap is coming down. And Hamilton is right behind the McLaren.
Lap 44/50: Leclerc looks safe in third, and is making no impact on the Red Bull of Pérez ahead of him. Russell (sixth) is 1.2 sec behind Alonso, but the real interest looks from seventh to ninth. Bearman has a useful gap for now, with road running out for Norris and Hamilton behind him.
Lap 43/50: Bearman (hard compound) has two hungry Brits on the faster soft tyres chasing him. This could be a fascinating finish in the single-digit points bracket.
Lap 42/50: Bearman is 6sec behind Russell in sixth, and 4sec ahead of Norris. Can he cling on to that seventh spot?
A fuming Zhou has hit trouble, pitted, and has resumed in 18th. He resumed on softs.
Lap 41/50: Up at the front, it’s looking like another Red Bull one-two, as they look like putting the off-track dramas to one side for another race day.
Some Norris snaking is being looked at by the car-snaking feds.
10 laps to go standings
Lap 40/50 – how they’re faring
1 Verstappen
2 Pérez +8.8sec (5sec penalty pending post-race)
3 Leclerc +12sec
4 Piastri
5 Alonso
6 Russell
7 Bearman
8 Norris
9 Hamilton
10 Zhou
Lap 39/50: You read that right by the way – Ferrari debutant Bearman is seventh. He’s never touched the car he’s driving in until yesterday.
Lap 38/50: Yup. positions six to nine are now Russell, Bearman, Norris and Hamilton! Hamilton is right behind Norris, with both now running on the fast, soft compound of tyres.
Lap 38/50: Hamilton has stopped – he resumes in ninth … behind Bearman. Norris is now in as well. Four Brits in a row coming up?
Lap 36/50: As things stand, Norris (fourth) coming into the pits would resume behind Bearman (ninth). The 18-year-old is currently 6sec behind Russell. Three young British drivers in a row would be a great image, should it come to pass.
Lap 35/50: Piastri thinks he’s taken Hamilton’s fifth spot, but after taking the Mercedes on the straight, he can’t hold on at the ensuing left-hander, and goes off. He retakes the track and yields the place once more.
Lap 34/50: All the racing is currently happening outside the points, sadly. The Magnussen, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda, Sargeant, Ricciardo battle is brilliantly entertaining.
Hülkenberg is in the pits – and helped by teammate Magnussen helming that group, he resumes in 11th. Great work from the Haas team.
Lap 32/50: Verstappen is sauntering – now 8sec clear of his teammate. Leclerc isn’t currently putting enough pressure on second to make Pérez’s penalty work for him – he’s almost 10sec behind.
Lap 30/50: Norris needs to come in. He’s fourth, but realistically that’s possibly more like 10th once a pitstop is factored in.
Hamilton suddenly has almost a second on Piastri, but he also needs to pit, so McLaren have backed a little from the fight. There are, as always, impressively clear heads on show despite the absurd speeds involved.
Norris, Hamilton, Hülkenberg and Zhou are the four drivers still to have pitted.
Lap 28/50: Verstappen is having one of those days where he’s sufficiently clear that the TV cameras have more or less forgotten about him. He’s over 7.5sec (+five more in penalties) clear of Pérez.
A great battle is unfolding towards the back of the field involving Magnussen, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon and Sargeant. It’s all an entertaining battle for 12th, essentially. Magnussen’s Haas briefly left the track in weaving through the left and right – “what dangerous driving”, Tsunoda complains.
Lap 27/50: Leclerc takes third. Sensibly, no resistance from Norris, who knows he has a spell in the pits in his imminent future.
Leclerc’s Ferrari is 8.2sec behind Pérez, but remember that five of those will be coming off post-race.
Magnussen (12th), meanwhile, might have 20sec of penalties coming to him.
Lap 26/50: Pérez is teetering around 7sec behind Verstappen, with a penalty still to be applied. Leclerc has indeed hauled Norris in, and is eyeing that podium place.
Norris is on borrowed tyre life now, so that looks a near-formality.
Half-race standings
How they look on lap 25/50
1 Verstappen
2 Pérez
3 Norris
4 Leclerc
5 Hamilton
6 Piastri
7 Alonso
8 Russell
9 Bearman
10 Hülkenberg
Lap 24/50: We’re approaching half-race distance. Piastri uses DRS to try and reel Hamilton in … no dice. Magnussen, having an interesting day, leaves the track in front of Tsunoda. He might be looked at again.
Lap 22/50: I’m now keeping a close eye on the gap between Russell in eighth and Bearman in ninth. It’s holding firm over 6sec for now.
Piastri really wants Hamilton’s fifth place. This is a great tit-for-tat. The Briton is clinging on, just.
Lap 21/50: It’s a really, really, really impressive debut from Bearman. DRS-assisted, he saunters through to take ninth from the Haas.
Pérez is now second, 6.2sec behind Verstappen. Norris has immediately dropped over 4sec and might soon have Leclerc for company.
Lap 20/50: Hülkenberg is among those needing to pit soon, which should give Bearman clear track to play with before long. This is a really impressive debut.
Lap 18/50: New fastest lap for Verstappen. It may take a serious mishap to keep him from another win here.
Piastri is all over Hamilton, wanting that fifth spot. The Mercedes is holding out, just about.
Think it’s safe to say Bearman is looking to twist for Hülkenberg’s ninth spot rather than sticking to 10th incidentally. A great battle unfolding there.