WATCH: Check out the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race start as Perez leads away from pole

As the five lights went out in Jeddah, the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix got under way – with Sergio Perez nailing the start from his first ever pole position to cover off the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Behind, Carlos Sainz was forced to stay off the throttle through Turn 1 to avoid hitting his team mate, allowing Max Verstappen to pass around the outside and take P3 – as further down the order, issues for Zhou Guanyu saw him drop to the back of the pack in P18, with neither Yuki Tsunoda nor Mick Schumacher having made the start.

LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Watch the race start in the video above.