F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Another 1-2 for Red Bull, Alonso podium controversy

The season opener a fortnight ago gave us a very clear view on what the story at the top will look like this season - Red Bull. This weekend saw a revisit to the world's fastest street track which stirred up a good amount of overtakes.

It was Red Bull once again who earned a 1-2 - and with absolute ease, despite Max Verstappen starting P15 after a driveshaft issue in qualifying which prevented him from putting in a good lap in the second session.

Sergio Perez won with ease this weekend though. Fernando Alonso gave him a tricky time in the early laps after a first-corner, first lap overtake from the Spaniard. The Aston Martin was to earn a 5-second penalty for an incorrect grid position, similarly to Esteban Ocon a couple of weeks prior.

Perez never conceded a gap of more than four seconds after overtaking and building a gap to second. Verstappen obviously accelerated into second quite quickly with help from a safety car from a Stroll retirement.

The most damning of overtakes was Verstappen's on George Russell. He was miles ahead going into the final corner, and that Red Bull appears so quick with DRS it seems illegal. Their car appears perfect, and it insists that they will absolutely dominate the 2023 season.

What happened to the Ferrari's? They were anonymous in the race, and once again struggled with tyre degradation. Leclerc did solidly to reach 7th with Sainz just ahead, but they were not on Mercedes' pace whatsoever.

Lewis Hamilton certainly appeared pessimistic this weekend, and almost sulked. Russell was evidently better this weekend and he appeared to struggle with setup. It would be fair to say he is fed up with Mercedes, and is desperate for quick improvements.

Credit to Kevin Magnussen for earning P10. He has seemed inferior to Hulkenberg so far but performed well against a brave Tsunoda who defended aggressively in an attempt to earn AlphaTauri a point. McLaren? They will be agitated again. A nightmare first lap, and painfully slow for the remainder.

The story of the weekend unfortunately falls at the hands of the FIA. They took far too long to give Alonso's penalty which was eventually reversed, and it seemed an extremely harsh penalty considering the lack of impact it had. People were collectively happy to see him get his 100 podium.

It feels as if this season is separated in sections, and huge upgrades will begin to come after Melbourne as Formula 1 heads on a spring break between Australia and Azerbaijan. If Red Bull avoid issues they will undoubtedly head into that break on maximum points.