With Hamilton and Norris pitting for fresh soft tyres ahead of the final ten laps, they set about chasing the Ferrari teenager down.
However, the 18-year-old held on to secure seventh place and six points on his F1 debut having held Norris off with a lead of over two seconds.
Kevin Magnussen was slapped with not one but two ten-second time penalties, the first for walking Alex Albon into the barrier and the second for overtaking Tsunoda off the track, as drivers learned the stricter baseline punishment for infringements – double from the previous norm of five seconds.
However, his hold-up routine on a long DRS train of backmarkers ensured Hulkenberg took 10th place and the final points position.b
After a relatively uneventful Bahrain Grand Prix, the Formula 1 grid turns to one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar this week with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit this week has the most corners of any track this year with 27 but is the second-fastest circuit Formula 1 will race on in 2024. It’s one of many front-limited circuits on the calendar, meaning front-end grip and balance is at a premium because of many medium- and high-speed corners. It’s a stark difference from the rear-limited Bahrain International Circuit last week with slow corners which emphasize high exit speeds.
