Lewis Hamilton brands Red Bull the fastest F1 car in history after Sergio Perez beat Max Verstappen

Perez galloped to victory from pole position on the Jeddah Corniche as Verstappen shot his way from 15th to second after suffering a mechanical failure in qualifying.

George Russell finished third after Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was demoted a position after a controversial 10-second post-race penalty. Hamilton was fifth.

Red Bull have moved to a different stratosphere this year and their stunning one-two – a fortnight after dominating the season opener in Bahrain – will cause major concern for Formula One bosses ahead of a record-breaking 23-round season. Red Bull has now won 12 of the last 13 races held.

Russell said at the season-opening race that he expects the Milton Keynes team to win every race this season and their fast form on the Red Sea did little to dispel the British rider’s terrifying prediction.

Perez and Verstappen were both faster than their rivals by more than a second per lap. Alonso finished 20.7 seconds behind Perez, who slacked off in the closing stages. Hamilton, who saw Verstappen pass him after just a dozen laps, was half a minute down the road.

“I’ve definitely never seen a car that fast,” said Hamilton. “When we were fast, we weren’t that fast. It’s the fastest car I’ve ever seen, especially compared to the others.

“I don’t know how, but him [Verstappen] was passing me at some serious speed and I didn’t even bother to block it because there was a massive difference in speed.

“Everyone wants to see a close fight but it is the way it is. It’s not my problem, it’s not my fault.”

Alonso, the 41-year-old Spaniard, who is enjoying a remarkable resurgence with Aston Martin, caused quite a stir in the opening moments when he dived under Perez on the descent to the opening corner.

But Alonso’s slim chance of his first win in a decade was dealt a fatal blow when he received a five-second penalty for starting from a wrong position. By the time he regained consciousness to serve his tire change penalty, Perez had already taken the lead.

His Aston Martin mechanics then touched his car as he served his sentence, resulting in a second penalty and denying the Spaniard a career 100th podium.

Hamilton started seventh and was the only key player to start the race on the hard tires – the slower but more durable compound – and the British driver was struggling for speed.

He dropped to eighth on lap eight as Charles Leclerc galloped past, then dropped behind Verstappen to leave him in ninth place. The stewards also showed him a black-and-white flag for weaving on the straight when he tried to hold Leclerc back earlier.

But his night suddenly changed for the better when Lance Stroll broke down in his Aston Martin on lap 18. Out came the safety car and Hamilton was effectively given a free pit stop, putting him ahead of both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

At this point, Verstappen was already fourth. The race was restarted on lap 21 and the Dutchman made easy work of Russell and then Alonso to take second place.

Such is the Red Bull’s speed that Alonso didn’t even fight to keep Verstappen behind, risking losing time to Russell and Hamilton in the battle for the final podium spot.

Hamilton seemed poised to launch an attack on Russell, but his challenge never materialized. He crossed the checkered flag 5.1 seconds behind his teammate.

“I still don’t have the confidence in the car but I’m doing my best,” he concluded.

“I struggled in qualifying so I’m happy to turn it into a positive result and George got a great result and some good points for the team.”