ROUND TWO! Good afternoon and welcome Eurosport's live text commentary from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the second round of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Red Bull's Sergio Perez starts on pole with the two Ferrari's of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in second and third. Max Verstappen lines up fourth. Can Red Bull respond from last week's disappointment? The race start is in 30 minutes time!
Formula 1 | Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Jeddah Corniche Circuit | 27.03.2022
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Updated 27/03/2022 at 21:57 GMT+1
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- Highlights
WHAT A RACE!
Two rounds into this season's championship and it seems we have a fight on our hands. Read our race report below as Verstappen left it late to grab his first win of the season.
50/50
VERSTAPPEN WINS!
Verstappen may have left it late, but he wins in Saudi Arabia! Leclerc is second and Sainz holds off Perez for third.
Further back, Ocon just holds off Norris to finish sixth.
47/50
VERSTAPPEN LEADS
The Dutchman slip-streams his way past the Ferrari on the main straight and takes the lead of the race. Can Leclerc respond?
Meanwhile, Perez is closing in on Sainz in the battle for third.
46/50
HERE WE GO!
Leclerc and Verstappen are once again battling it out for a Grand Prix victory, just like they did seven days ago. Round two anyone?
43/50
LOCK-UP
Both Leclerc and Verstappen lock-up going into the final turn as they went side-by-side. The Dutchman lost valuable time there and is once again becoming very frustated as he once again complains that "Leclerc crossed the white line."
"Focus on your job Max, and we'll do ours" is the response from Red Bull.
43/50
LEAD BATTLE
Verstappen sailed past Leclerc going into the hairpin with the aid of DRS. That crucially gave the Ferrari DRS on the main straight. Leclerc leads again.
41/50
HAMILTON PITS
Having just missed the opportunity to pit under that virtual safety car, Hamilton finally pits and comes out in 12th position. He's on the medium tyres.
38/50
RETIREMENTS
Daniel Ricciardo and Bottas are also out of the Grand Prix with technical issues. The McLaren driver reported he had "no drive" over the team radio.
35/50
"NO POWER!"
Gutting for Alonso! After finally getting past Magnussen, a "cool car" message apperas on Alonso's steering wheel. "No power," he says! The Spaniard is out.
35/50
FINALLY
With DRS assistance, Alonso finally overtakes Magnussen having stared at the back of the HAAS for the last few laps. He's now seventh.
32/50
"LET LECLERC USE UP ALL HIS TYRES"
Verstappen is told to be careful in the high-speed corners to try and preserve his tyres. Red Bull's plan is to attack later in the Grand Prix.
30/50
A BETTER DAY
Hamilton hasn't stopped yet, but he's definitely had a better day today than he did yesterday.
28/50
LECLERC RESPONDS
Just as Red Bull give Verstappen some encouragement, Leclerc sets another fastest lap of the race. His lead is now 1.3 seconds.
26/50
ENCOURAGEMENT
Verstappen is told that "all of Leclerc's lap time is in sector one - turns five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten, as expected. Let's see how long he can keep this up."
25/50
"LECLERC CROSSED THE WHITE LINE"
Verstappen has come over the team radio to tell the team that "Leclerc crossed the white line" when the race restarted.
24/50
HAMILTON UP TO SIXTH
With the help of DRS, Hamilton finally gets past Magnussen and is now up sixth. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg has dropped to 10th after losing out to Bottas and Alonso.
22/50
FASTEST LAP
Leclerc sets the fastest lap of the race as he tries to break that one second DRS window.
21/50
GREEN FLAG
Leclerc holds on to the lead at the restart as Russell dives up the inside of Magnussen going into turn one.
20/50
HARD'S ALL THE WAY
All 17 drivers left in this Grand Prix are on the hard compound tyres.
16/50
SAFETY CAR
Nicholas Latifi crashes at the final turn and the safety car is out. That's horrendous timing for Perez. So unlucky! The replay shows the Williams getting on the power too early and hitting the wall.