Sergio Perez holds off Max Verstappen’s charge to win Saudi Arabian GP

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Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Max Verstappen drove from 15th to second to give Red Bull a 1-2 finish Sunday in what is shaping up to be a runaway season for the reigning Formula One champions.

And there have only been two races so far.

But it’s been two Red Bull wins, two 1-2 finishes, and an air of desperation from everyone else on the grid.

Fernando Alonso finished third for the second consecutive race for what would have been his 100th career podium. He was later handed a 10-second penalty for incorrectly serving an early penalty that dropped him to fourth, but that decision was later reversed, which meant Mercedes’s George Russell dropped back to fourth from third..

But even as the Spaniard enjoys a renaissance with his new Aston Martin team, Alonso has acknowledged he had little chance at beating Red Bull.

Verstappen won a record 15 races last season and a second consecutive Formula One title, and Perez added another two victories as the 17 total wins in 23 races easily gave Red Bull the constructors title. There have been no signs of an off-season drop in performance and Russell predicted after the season opener that Red Bull would win every race this season.

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth as Mercedes went third and fifth just three days after the seven-time Formula One champion said the team needed three other organizations not to finish a race for Mercedes to have a shot to win.

Montreal’s Lance Stroll didn’t finish.

The 6.2-kilometre circuit beside the Red Sea is the quickest street track in Formula One with average speeds exceeding 250 kilometres an hour, which suited Verstappen. It took him only a few seconds to pass Russell and Alonso didn’t last long, either, making it a Red Bull shootout.