F1 News: Leclerc in BRUTAL Saudi GP verdict - Top 3 quotes

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Leclerc in BRUTAL Saudi GP verdict - Top 3 quotes

The podium finishers share their thoughts from the Saudi GP

Shay Rogers

Monday 11 March 2024 06:00

Charles Leclerc has admitted that he found the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 'boring' as he drove to third place .

Max Verstappen cruised to victory, while Sergio Perez was never truly troubled by the Ferrari man - who himself had very little pressure from drivers behind him.

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A lap six safety car forced most of the field to stop for tyres early, including Perez who found himself nearly tangling with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

He was handed a five second penalty for the incident, but such was the RB20’s superiority over the rest of the pack, he was still able to cruise to a podium finish alongside Verstappen and Leclerc.

Max Verstappen

“Overall, a fantastic weekend for the whole team and myself,” he said. “I felt really good with the car and it was the same in the race.

“The last stint was a bit longer than we would have liked but with the Safety Car you had to go for it.

“So, the last few laps with cold tyres and backmarkers it was a bit slippery but we had good pace all-around and could manage it, so overall very pleased.”

Sergio Perez

“We definitely made some good progress,” said Perez. “I just think it was a shame we qualified out of the front row because we had a great start. Unfortunately, Charles really kept it together and we couldn’t get through. It was a nice fight.

“And later on it was quite a compromised race with the safety car there so early, it was a very long stint on the hard tyres.

“But overall it’s a great day for the team. It’s a very different track to Bahrain and we’re keeping strong, so we just have to keep this momentum going,” he continued.

“It was a shame that we got that penalty. Luckily, it didn’t hurt our race, but in this scenario I was quite close to Max and everyone was coming in at the same time, we just didn’t have a wide enough pit lane.”