Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Race Recap

Hulkenberg started from P15 on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and made up one spot on the opening lap. Hulkenberg stayed out on track during an early Safety Car period, caused by Lance Stroll suffering an accident, and was able to use clear air to his advantage.

Hulkenberg occupied P10 and, thanks to a strong defensive drive by team mate Magnussen keeping back a train of cars further down the pecking order, was able to emerge from his mandatory pit stop on lap 33 in P11. Hulkenberg took on White hard tires at his pit stop and once everyone had pitted, the German progressed to P10, earning his and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s first point of the season.

Magnussen started from P13, also on medium tires, and pitted under the safety car on lap 7, taking on hard tires. Magnussen sustained two time penalties, one for a minor collision with Alex Albon, and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The Dane came home in P11, but dropped to P12 in the final order once sanctions were applied.

Up front, Max Verstappen led a Red Bull Racing 1-2, ahead of team mate Sergio Perez, with Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship. 

Nico Hulkenberg: 

“One point is worth a lot these days. It felt like a very clean race, and a really good race by the team strategy-wise. We split the cars during the Safety Car which was discussed before the race and that worked out well. At the restart when the faster cars disappeared, I managed to get free air, good pace, and a good rhythm. I think that was key, but also the teamwork from Kevin today to slow down the others for me to be able to make a pit window. It was perfect teamwork, and I’ll return the favor to him later in the season.”  

 

Kevin Magnussen:

“I showed good pace but unfortunately I got two penalties, so that’s not a great day for me of course, but I think I made up for it with the effort in keeping everyone behind to create a gap for Nico to pit. He scored a point so that’s super important and right now, I’m not fighting for a championship, so the real fight is in the Constructors’ Championship, and I’m happy that we scored a point today. It’s huge for the team, we really earned it today, and it’s really positive that we have the pace – for a second race in a row we’ve shown that we have good pace.”

 

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Today was an amazing team effort and I’m so happy that it was from the great teamwork. We were fighting for P10 – one point – but against eight other drivers, so everything had to be perfect to take the opportunity. Today, Kevin got some penalties, but once we realized he was out of points contention, we made a great call and Kev drove fantastically to hold those guys back while setting a target lap time, and Nico drove faultlessly. It was a huge team effort, congratulations to everyone and I’m really looking forward to the next race.”

 

Today's Data

Event: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Saturday March 9
Location: Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah
Layout: 6.174-kilometer (3.836-mile), 27-turn circuit
Weather: Clear
Air Temps: 25.3 degrees Celsius (77.5 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 31 degrees Celsius (85.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing
Team Result: Nico Hulkenberg – Started 15^th / Finished 10^th (Running – 50/50 laps)
Kevin Magnussen – Started 13^th / Finished 12^th (Running – 50/50 laps)