After an impressive “Mass” in the pits, ruining the race for both George Russell and Walter Bot, the Mexican Serhio Perez won the Sakira Grand Prix with a surprising victory.
The start of the race was very good for George Russell and Hamilton’s substitute was already the leader in the first lap. Unsuccessful first turns forced Walter Botas to start the fight with Serhio Peres for second place. Although Botass defended his position, it provoked a chain reaction – Perez started the fight for the third place with Max Verstapen. Charles Lecler’s involvement in the fight ended in an unsuccessful maneuver – the wheels of the Ferrari car locked and Lecler struck Peres. Verstapen tried to bypass the collision site along the safety lane, but was unable to make enough turns to return to the track and collided with the safety barrier.
A safety car was sent on the track. Charles Clecker and Max Verstapen were out of the race, while Serhio Peress continued the race after a pit stop. As a result of this chaos, Carlos Saincs climbed to third place, starting only eighth. Behind Sainc came Daniel Rikjardo, Danila Kvjats and Lens Strols. In the fight for the last places in the 1st lap, the old master Kimi Raikonen also experienced a thorough cut.
When the race resumed, the Mercedes duo retained their positions, but Serhio Peress quickly fought back from the last position to the points zone.
Danils Kvjats finished his pit stop faster than the competitors. Immediately after him, Saints also went in the box in the 29th lap, and later in the lap – Richtero, who returned to the track behind Kvjat. The other riders stayed at least 10 laps longer on the track before their pit stop. When all the riders had made their pit stops, the top ten were as follows: Russell, Botass, Sainc, Quyat, Richtero, Gazley, Ocon, Stole, Perez, Norris.
Russell gained an 8-second lead at the expense of boxing attendance. It gradually began to fade, and Russell complained about a lack of capacity. Nicolas Latifi drove to the side of the track and triggered a phase of a virtual safety car. Saincs and Richtero went into the pits just when the VSC phase ended. Despite this, Richtero regained his position against Quyat.
Everything turned in the air when Jack Eitken crashed. Mercedes sent both of its drivers into the pits, but George Russell was bolted to Botas’ tires. Russell was already back on the track when Mercedes mechanics fixed his mistake. After nearly half a minute of pit stop, Botass was sent back to the track with the same tires he drove into the pits, but Russell went to the mechanics again.
The race resumed with Peres in the lead. Ocon, Strols, Botass, Russell and Saints followed. With fresh tires, Russell overtakes not only Botas, but also Stole and Ocon, climbing to second place. The attempt to catch Peres ended when Mercedes called him into the pits because of a flat tire. Botas didn’t do better – he lost several positions with old tires and finished eighth – right in front of Russell, who overtakes a number of slower drivers in the last laps.
Serhio Peress won his first victory in the career, Esteban Ocon climbed the podium for the first time in his career, but Lens Strols made sure that two Racing Point riders climbed to the podium for the first time.
Sakiras Grand Prix results
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