Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was impressed by the speed of the Red Bull cars after Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen finished first at the Saudi Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, impressed by the speed of the Red Bull cars

Despite starting from 15th position, Verstappen was the performer of the day in Jeddah and finished second. The British pilot of Mercedes (owner of the record of victories in F1: 103) said that he did not even think of blocking the Dutchman.

“Of course, I’ve never seen a faster car before. When we were fast, the difference wasn’t that big. I think it’s the fastest car I’ve seen, especially compared to others.

I don’t know how, but Verstappen passed me at an amazing speed and I didn’t even bother to block him because the gap was too big. Everyone wants to see close combat, but it’s not like that. It’s not my problem, it’s not my fault” – Lewis Hamiltonquoted by the Daily Mail.

>> Formula 1: RedBull double in Saudi Arabia – world champion, impressive comeback

George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, said at the start of the season that Red Bull could win every race this year. The Briton did not change his opinion even after the races in Sakhira and Jeddah.

“We have to give credit to what Red Bull has done. The gap they have with the rest of the peloton I believe is the biggest we’ve seen since Mercedes in 2014. That’s a serious, serious gap, and I think everyone still needs to work harder to figure out how to close that gap. But we know we didn’t make the right decisions in the winter and I think we can regain some of that performance sooner than usual. So all is not lost yet” – George Russell.

Red Bull took their second double of the season in Saudi Arabia, with the only points lost to Verstappen and Perez coming from the bonus awarded for fastest lap in Bahrain.

>> Formula-1: Fernando Alonso, podium and chaos in Saudi Arabia – Telenovela from the end of the race

Pilot rating of the MP from Saudi Arabia

1 Max Verstappen – RedBull 44 points

2 Sergio Perez – RedBull 43

3 Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin 30

4. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari 20

5 Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes 20

6 George Russell – Mercedes 18

7 Lance Stroll – Aston Martin 8

8 Charles Leclerc – Ferrari 6

9 Pierre Gasly – Alpine 4

10 Esteban Ocon – Alpine 4

11 Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo 4

12 Kevin Magnussen – HAAS 1

13 Alexander Albon – Williams 1

14 Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri 0

15 Nico Hulkenberg – HAAS 0

16 Logan Sargent – Williams 0

17 Zhou Guanyu – Aston Martin 0

18 Nick De Vries – AlphaTauri 0

19 Oscar Piastri – McLaren 0

20 Lando Norris – McLaren 0

Rating of builders

1 RedBull 87 points

2 Aston Martin 38s

3 Mercedes 38

4 Ferrari 26s

5 Alpine 8

6 Alfa Romeo 4

7 HAAS 1

8 Williams 1

9 Alpha Tauri 0

10 McLaren 0.

Formula 1 season calendar for 2023

March 5: Bahrain – victory for Max Verstappen

March 19: Saudi Arabia – Reverend Sergio Perez

April 2: Australia / Melbourne

April 16: China / Shanghai

April 30: Azerbaijan / Baku

May 7: Miami

May 21: Emilia-Romagna / Imola

May 28: Monaco

June 4: Spain / Barcelona

June 18: Canada / Montreal

July 2: Austria / Spielberg

July 9: Great Britain / Silverstone

July 23: Hungary / Budapest

July 30: Belgium / Spa-Francorchamps

August 27: Netherlands / Zandvoort

September 3: Italy / Monza

September 17: Singapore / Marina Bay

September 24: Japan / Suzuka

October 8: Qatar / Losail

October 22: USA / Austin

October 29: Mexico / Mexico City

November 5: Brazil / Sao Paulo

November 18: Las Vegas

November 26: Abu Dhabi / Yas Marina.