Add Category
Max Verstappen has won the opening two races of the Formula 1 season, but there was plenty of action behind him in Saudi Arabia.
A British debutant showed class beyond his years, Haas scored its first point of the season, while Christian Horner continued to play down rumours of trouble at Red Bull.
Here are five key moments from the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
1. Horner plays down speculation there is a power struggle at Red Bull
Formula 1's biggest drama so far in 2024 has nothing to do with cars on track.
Turmoil at Red Bull, centred around team principal Christian Horner, has followed the team since Horner was accused of workplace misconduct by a female colleague back in February.
An investigation cleared Horner before an email was sent to people within F1 with alleged screenshots of conversations between Horner and the employee.
Red Bull has stuck by the team principal, who has categorically denied the allegations and refused to speculate on whether the screenshots emailed out are genuine.
But the saga has led to a reported rift within the team with Helmut Marko, a consultant for Red Bull's parent company and influential figure for young drivers, reportedly having crisis talks with senior management about his future.
Max Verstappen's father, Jos, has also been reported to be at odds with Horner, leading to rumours the triple world champion could replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.
Dominance on track has not been able to fully pacify the noise surrounding Red Bull, with Horner maintaining there is solidarity within the team after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
"Obviously a lot is made of this stuff, but we are one team and nobody is bigger than the team," Horner told Sky Sports UK.
"This team comprises, across the different entities, of over 1,400 people and everyone has a role to play.
"Without them performing, you don't achieve performance like this.
"Obviously there are rumblings. I'm aware of what's been said.
"Max is an important part of this team, he is our driver, and he's going a great job."
Verstappen also called for peace within the team, as Red Bull continued their dominant start to the year.
"I think everyone knows it is important to have peace within the team, and just focus on the driving aspect and the performing aspect."
2. Bearman makes history in debut race
The wild weekend of Oliver Bearman ended on a high, with the 18-year-old debutant scoring world championship points on Sunday, AEDT.
The Essex-born driver replaced Carlos Sainz in Jeddah after the Spaniard was diagnosed with appendicitis at the start of the weekend.
Bearman, Ferrari's reserve driver, held his own in his first F1 weekend by qualifying 11th and finishing the grand prix seventh.
The Englishman made history when the lights went out, becoming the first driver since Arturo Merzario at the 1972 British Grand Prix to make his F1 debut in a Ferrari.
Like Bearman, Merzario also scored points on his debut 52 years ago, finishing sixth after qualifying ninth.
"The car was mega today so thank you," Bearman said to his team over the radio after crossing the finish line.
"I really enjoyed it. It was so much fun out there."
Bearman became the 68th driver to score points on his race debut, and the first British driver to do that since Paul di Resta in 2011.
Bearman was also voted driver of the day by F1 fans.
3. Magnussen's wild race leads to penalties and a point for Haas
Danish driver Kevin Magnussen had what on any normal weekend would have been a poor race.
The Haas driver received 20 seconds' worth of penalties for two incidents during the race — the first for causing a collision with Alex Albon followed by going off the track to overtake Yuki Tsunoda.
But Magnussen produced one of the best drives of the day for his team, helping teammate Nico Hulkenberg finish 10th and secure the team's first point of the season.
Hulkenberg was one of four drivers not to pit during a safety car on lap 7 in Jeddah, opting to stay out and hope the rise in positions would lead to a top-10 finish.
To achieve that, the German needed his teammate Magnussen to hold up a bunch of cars behind him.
Magnussen was brilliant, parking his car in front of a queue of drivers including Albon and Esteban Ocon who were trying to catch Hulkenberg who still needed to pit.
Magnussen did his job so brilliantly that Hulkenberg had enough time to pit and come out ahead of the chasing pack, ultimately finishing 10th and scoring one world championship point.
4. Alpine's miserable start to 2024 continues
The painful start to the new Formula 1 season for French outfit Alpine continued early in Saudi Arabia.
Coming off last week's season opener where both cars qualified last and second last, and finished the race 17th and 18th, Alpine would have been hoping for a quick turnaround.
But Pierre Gasly retired his Alpine on the opening lap, after complaining about a gearbox issue on the formation lap.
Esteban Ocon was at least able to finish the race but never looked like threatening the points.
Alpine was not without star power during the race, welcoming former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua into the garage.
5. Red Bull overtakes Williams on all-time wins list
Red Bull Racing has climbed to fourth on the all-time grand prix wins list with Verstappen's victory around the streets of Jeddah.
When Verstappen took the chequered flag he claimed the 115th F1 victory for Red Bull, passing Williams for fourth on the all-time list.
Red Bull's first race win came in 2009 when Sebastian Vettel won a rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix.
Verstappen has taken 56 of Red Bull's wins (the most any driver).
Other drivers to claim victories for Red Bull are Vettel (38), Mark Webber (9), Daniel Ricciardo (7) and Sergio Perez (5).
Ferrari has the most wins in F1 history with 243, followed by McLaren (183) and Mercedes (125).
Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Friday.