Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen hailed an excellent recovery in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he stormed through the field to finish second with the fastest lap.
The Dutch driver started 15th following a driveshaft issue in Qualifying, and remained patient in the early stages of the race, as overtaking proved to be more difficult than expected.
A timely Safety Car courtesy of Lance Stroll meant Verstappen was able to jump up to fourth place, before quickly disposing of George Russell and Fernando Alonso off the restart.
He was unable to hunt down team-mate Sergio Perez by the end of the race, and instead settled for second as he retained the the championship lead for another two weeks headed into the Australian Grand Prix.
Speaking about the opening stages, he said ”Yeah, it wasn’t very easy to get through he field. Through the first sector, trying to follow at the beginning of the race was very difficult, a lot of sliding around.
“But once I cleared them one by one, I got into a good rhythm and of course very happy to be here on the podium. It was a very good recovery so I am happy with that.”
He managed to swoop his first Driver of the Day award of the year, and takes even more momentum with him headed into the Australian Grand Prix, as he hunts his third consecutive title.
