Keep up to date with all the highlights of the race in our post Live F1 Updates: Saudi Arabia 2023 which outlines the race as it unfolds.

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Lap 50/50: CHEQUERED FLAG

Perez managed to claim his 5th race win in epic fashion. While Max did start from behind, Perez managed to maintain the lead after the safety car. This makes it another 1-2 for Red Bull in the 2023 Formula 1 season. Alonso claims the last step of the podium which makes it the 100th podium finish of his career.

LAP 46/50: HAAS IN THE POINTS

The Haas of Kevin Magnussen has been trying to pass Tsunoda for the last few laps. The Haas finally managed to leverage DRS and make the overtake into turn 1. Both the Haas of Kevin and the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda locked up, but Kevin managed to exit ahead and secure 10th place.

LAP 42/50: DE VRIES OVERTAKES SARGEANT

At the bottom half of the grid, Williams has been showcasing some pace. While Albon had to retire with a brake issue, the other Williams of Logan Sargeant was looking good. However, the AlphaTauri of De Vries managed to crush all hopes of points with an aggressive overtake. Perez still leads the race and also has the extra point for the fastest lap.

LAP 35/50: PEREZ MAINTAINS THE LEAD

Perez leads Verstappen by a little over 4.5 seconds. With just 15 laps to go, Max will need to give it everything he has to snatch the win from Perez. Hamilton seems to have dropped back to preserve his tyres. However, the race pace of the Mercedes seems to be strong enough to keep the Ferraris behind them. Alonso is sitting comfortably in 3rd, around 3.5 seconds ahead of Russell.

LAP 30/50: HAMILTON STUCK BEHIND RUSSELL

While Hamilton managed to overtake both Ferraris, he seems to be struggling to overtake Russell in the other Mercedes. The team did tell Russell to get out of the way, but it seems like Russell wants the spot for himself. Every lap behind Russell makes it more difficult for Hamilton to catch Alonso, effectively handing him the podium place.

LAP 23/50: MAX OVERTAKES RUSSELL AND ALONSO

Verstappen leverages the added boost of DRS and breezes past Russell. This leaves Russell in 4th with Hamilton behind with medium tyres. Hamilton should comfortably overtake Russell, but the question remains whether Hamilton can take on Verstappen or Alonso for the last podium place. Max quickly overtakes Alonso, leaving the fight between Alonso and Hamilton for the final podium place.

LAP 22/50: RACE RESUMES

The race resumes on lap 21 and Perez manages to put over a second between him and Alonso. Max is putting insane pressure on Russell in 3rd while Hamilton overtakes Sainz to claim 5th.

LAP 19/50: STROLL STOPS ON TRACK – SAFETY CAR

Lance Stroll stops on track due to a technical fault of some kind. Fire extinguishers were used on his brakes, but it’s not clear what the issue was. The safety car offers everyone a cheap pit stop. Perez comes in from the lead and Alonso follows. Alonso served his penalty but remains ahead of George Russell. Hamilton pits after Russell and manages to come out between the Ferraris. Hamilton is on mediums while everyone around him is on hards.

LAP 17/50: STROLL PITS BEFORE SAINZ

Sainz was called in for a pit stop, causing Lance Stroll to pit first. Sainz continued for another lap and then proceeded to put for hards. This saw Sainz overcut Stroll. Leclerc also came into the pits and also overcut Stroll. This means that Stroll effectively lost two positions to both Ferraris. Hamilton has climbed to 5th place as he has not changed his tyres yet.

LAP 12/50: MAX OVERTAKES HAMILTON

Despite starting in 15th place, Max has steadily made his way through the field. Hamilton seems to be on the wrong tyre as Max breezes past the Mercedes. Perez leads Alonso by over 3 seconds while Russell sits 7 seconds behind Alonso in 3rd.

LAP 9/50: LECLERC OVERTAKES GASLY AND HAMILTON

Charles Leclerc was struggling behind the Alpine of Pierre Gasly for the first few laps. Since Leclerc and Gasly both had DRS, it was incredibly difficult to make a move. Charles finally managed to overtake Gasly and now finds himself behind Hamilton in 7th. It’s abundantly clear that the pace of the Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin are all incredibly close. Since Leclerc is on softs, he also comfortably overtook Hamilton within a few laps.

LAP 4/ 50: PEREZ RECLAIMS THE LEAD

With DRS activated, Perez managed to close the gap to Alonso. Perez used the extra boost to overtake Alonso into turn 1. Alonso didn’t seem to put up much of a fight as he was busy harvesting energy for his battery.

LAP 3/50: ALONSO TAKES THE LEAD

Lights out and away we go! Alonso gets an amazing start and manages to beat Perez into turn 1. However, a starting infringement means that Alonso gets a 5-second penalty at his first pit stop. Stroll manages to also overtake Sainz, taking fourth place. Leclerc also has a great start and gains three positions.

FORMATION LAP

All 20 cars leave the grid to give their tyres a final warmup. It’s interesting to note the different tyre strategies at play. The top six are all on medium tyres while Hamilton is on hards. If he extends the hards long enough, he can switch to softs for the final part of the race. This gives him an advantage since the medium runners will need to switch to hards.

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