Five things you may have missed at the Saudi Arabian GP

Lewis Hamilton, Ollie Bearman, Mercedes, Ferrari, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Hamilton hug with Bearman and Tsunoda BLANKS Sky presenter – FIVE things you may have missed at the Saudi Arabian GP

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix wasn’t all about Red Bull’s domination...

Shay Rogers

Sunday 10 March 2024 12:57

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Red Bull secured their second consecutive 1-2 finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but that doesn’t mean that the entire event was a snoozefest.

From Ollie Bearman’s exciting Formula 1 debut to Yuki Tsunoda ignoring Sky Sports’ Simon Lazenby and even Nico Hulkenberg’s heroic Haas effort, there’s plenty that you may have missed.

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Here at GPFans, we were keeping an eye on the best moments that might not have got the full credit they deserve.

1. Hamilton shares kind moment with Bearman

Lewis Hamilton hugged Ollie Bearman after the race

The Corniche Circuit is one of the most difficult on the F1 calendar due to its high-speed nature and strain on the drivers – making Ollie Bearman’s seventh place on debut all the more impressive.

The Brit, who is now the third-youngest driver to finish a race in the sport’s history, will have his eyes set on a 2025 drive.

Fellow countryman and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who only finished ninth during the grand prix himself, came over to congratulate the Chelmsford-born star in Parc Ferme post-race.

They shared a hug as the drivers were walking away from their cars to be weighed.

2. Tsunoda brushes Lazenby aside

Yuki Tsunoda has enjoyed an impressive start compared with experienced team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the first two events of 2024.

Five places higher than the Aussie in qualifying was as good as his weekend got as his RB car lost pace in race trim.

Speaking to Sky Sports pre-race, Tsunoda appeared to ignore presenter Simon Lazenby as they finished a conversation before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after failing to acknowledge his fist bump in an awkward encounter.

It was an almost unsalvageable situation for Lazenby, who had to quickly recompose himself and continue with his duties after being left hanging by the Japanese driver.

3. Hulkenberg snatches crucial Haas point

Last season, points were of a premium for Haas, who wound up finishing plum last in the constructors’ championship after a difficult year.

This season, they have made marked improvements in race pace and tyre life, which is helping them to stay in contention throughout grands prix.

Kevin Magnussen came to the aid of team-mate Hulkenberg this weekend. After receiving two ten-second time penalties, the Dane backed the rest of the midfield up to allow the ‘Hulk’ to create a gap and stop for fresh tyres while still coming out ahead of the chasing pack.

The plan was executed perfectly, and with such a big disparity between the top and bottom half of the field this season – the point they secured could be crucial, leaving them sixth in the standings for now.

4. Sauber’s second straight pitstop fail

We all thought it was Valtteri Bottas that was the king of long pitstops, but it appears that we may have had the wrong suspects all along.

For the second consecutive week, his Sauber team experienced more delays in the pitlane as Zhou Guanyu made a late dive for a set of soft tyres.

The front right wheel failed to connect properly with the car, leaving the team scrambling as time leaked away while Zhou was stationary.

It didn’t matter much in the end, with both cars the last classified runners – a reminder that Sauber has work to do on and off the track across the next 22 races.

5. Gasly 21st in a 20-man championship

Alpine are suffering their worst start to a Formula 1 season in recent memory, with both cars eliminated in Q1 across the first two grands prix.

It’s not just their speed that has taken a hit, with reliability the reason for Pierre Gasly’s lap two retirement in Jeddah after a gearbox issue.

It means after Bearman’s stunning debut that Gasly is now 21st in a 20-man championship – a statistic that he will be keen to improve on.

It’s hard to see where things may improve for Alpine, but investors will be demanding an upturn in results for a team who have often promised so much and delivered so little.

Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda Nico Hulkenberg Ollie Bearman Saudi Arabian Grand Prix