Max Verstappen consolidated himself in Formula 1 in 2021 1:36
(CNN) --
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday after a thrilling battle with Charles LeClerc (Ferrari).
Carlos Sainz completed the podium in third position, so Ferrari took 2 and 3. Mexican Sergio "Checo" Pérez, Verstappen's teammate, finished fourth after starting on pole position, which was the first of his career as an F1 driver, and in the middle of a safety car that hurt his luck in the race.
F1: Checo Pérez proves his worth with Pole 1:25
Verstappen, second for most of the race, took the lead with just a few laps to go and never relinquished it.
As in Bahrain last week, the two engaged in an enthralling battle, with the final 10 laps of the race in Jeddah proving to be a very exciting spectacle.
The win is Verstappen's first of the 2022 season, after failing to finish in Bahrain last week.
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Ferrari completed the rest of the podium with LeClerc in second place and Carlos Sainz in third.
Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images
The race came on a difficult weekend for F1, following missile attacks on an oil storage facility near the track by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Saudi Grand Prix: Houthi rebels launch attacks near Jeddah circuit
From side to side
After getting the first pole in his career and the first for his country, Sergio Pérez made a perfect start this Sunday.
The Mexican was quick off the start, blocking second-placed LeClerc and keeping his lead.
However, his dream career soon fell apart.
An apparent fake pit by Ferrari saw Red Bull opt to pit Perez - losing positions - just before Nicholas Latifi crashed, prompting the safety car to come out allowing other drivers to pit.
This meant that when the safety car left the track, LeClerc was leading, followed by Verstappen with Pérez in fourth after giving up his third place for a pit lane violation.
And with no obstacles ahead, the Monegasque driver continued his excellent pace in 2022, having won the season-opening race in Bahrain last weekend.
The 24-year-old managed to hold off a flying Verstappen until a virtual safety car was called on lap 38 after two cars lost traction near pit lane.
After the second safety car of the race was stopped, just like in Bahrain last week, the two young stars battled back.
They went back and forth, with Verstappen taking the lead, only for LeClerc to roar again.
But with just over three laps to go, the Dutch driver took the lead again and held onto it with blistering grip to claim his first win of the season.
Verstappen overtakes Leclerc during the Saudi Arabian GP.
Verstappen overtakes Leclerc during the Saudi Arabian GP.
far off the track
On Saturday, a joint statement from Formula 1 and the sport's governing body, the FIA, confirmed that the Saudi Grand Prix would take place this weekend despite an attack claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels on a storage facility. of oil near the runway on Friday.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the second race of the new season and comes on the seventh anniversary of the start of the civil war in Yemen.
Friday's explosion at F1 sponsor Aramco's facilities occurred about 20 miles from the track and smoke could be seen over the city during Friday practice.
The second practice session was delayed by 15 minutes, as the teams and drivers had to meet with the organizers.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told reporters the teams had received "guarantees that we are protected" and that the track was "probably the safest place to be in Saudi Arabia" at the time. .
However, sources told CNN that the drivers were uncomfortable after the attack and that many did not want to drive in the race.
The Houthis said they used a "large number" of drones to attack the facilities in Friday's attack.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said a ballistic missile and 10 bomb-laden drones launched from the southern border by the Iranian-backed rebels were intercepted, according to Saudi Arabia's state-run al-Ekhbariya TV channel. .
The statement did not mention an attack on Jeddah.
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There have been no casualties in the attack so far, an official told CNN.
Saudi Arabian state media later reported that the country's Arab-led coalition had launched airstrikes against what it said were "threat sources in Sanaa and Hodeidah" in Yemen, following Friday's attack.
The port city of Hodeidah is used to provide food and humanitarian aid to Yemenis.
Fuel usually reaches the north of the country through the port, which is controlled by the Houthi rebels, but the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi warships, must give ships permission to dock.
Irene Nasser in Hong Kong; Talia Kayali and Hira Humayun in Atlanta; Nic Robertson, Eyad Kourdi, Amanda Davies, and Mostafa Salem contributed to this report.
F1 Max Verstappen Sergio "Checo" Pérez