2022 F1 Saudi Arabia GP: What does the Constructors' Championship look like after the Saudi Arabian GP?

Modified Mar 29, 2022 06:40 GMT

Red Bull and Ferrari at the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia

After a highly controversial start to the second F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the main race on Sunday has once again seen a major shake-up in the standings. Two out of the four constructors who took home no points from the season opener in Bahrain finally made it to the points this weekend.

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Ferrari have been on an absolute roll this season, having finished the season opener with a glorious 1-2. While Sergio Perez beat the two Ferraris to pole in Saturday's qualifying, Charles Leclerc was on track to take a second consecutive win before Max Verstappen came along to snatch and seal it in the last few laps of the race. Carlos Sainz came in third, giving Ferrari their second consecutive double-podium finish of the season, securing their place as the leading constructors with a total of 78 points.

Mercedes got off to a shockingly poor start with Lewis Hamilton setting only the sixteenth fastest time in Saturday's qualifying. The Briton, however, managed to fight back to a certain extent and found himself just into the points with a tenth-place finish behind Haas' Kevin Magnussen. George Russell's reasonably decent fifth-place finish allowed the Silver Arrows to retain their second-place standing in the F1 constructors' table.

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Red Bull, who faced a devastating double DNF in the very last few laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, got off to a great start on Sunday with Sergio Perez taking pole position for the first time in his F1 career. Unfortunately for the Mexican, he took a badly-timed pit stop for new tires, less than a lap before Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers, bringing out a safety car. He was simply unable to recover from this and ended the race in fourth, just missing out on a podium finish. Max Verstappen, however, having started in fourth, drove a phenomenal race, challenging race leader Charles Leclerc lap after lap. The final ten laps of the Grand Prix saw some sensational wheel-to-wheel racing at the end of which the Dutchman emerged victorious, giving him the first race win of the 2022 F1 season and giving the team some solid points to kick off the season. Red Bull stands a point shy of second place with 37 points.

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One could argue that up until the last few laps of the race when Leclerc and Verstappen gave us some intense battles, it was Alpine keeping the entertainment up for fans. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon competed for several laps, throwing some incredible moves and switching positions constantly. Unfortunately, the Spaniard soon found himself out of the race due to mechanical issues. Ocon managed to finish in sixth and the team now stands in fourth.

Haas only had a single car in the race this Sunday after Mick Schumacher suffered a nasty crash in Saturday's qualifying. Kevin Magnussen had some great battles throughout the grid and finished the race in eighth. The team has now fallen from third to fifth on the grid with Alfa Romeo right behind. In the second race of his F1 career, Zhou finished outside the points and Valtteri Bottas had a DNF, leaving the team at nine points and in sixth position from fourth after last Sunday.

Alpha Tauri too fell from fifth to seventh after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after taking no points home from the race. Pierre Gasly finished in twelfth while Yuki Tsunoda had a DNS. McLaren have finally got themselves into the points despite Daniel Ricciardo's DNF. The team was certainly more competitive today than last week, and Lando Norris managed a decent points-finish with P7.

Williams suffered a double-DNF and both Aston Martin drivers finished outside the points, meaning that both Mercedes-powered constructors continue to find themselves right at the back of the standings with zero points so far.