This weekend in Formula 1, we race in Saudi Arabia for the Grand Prix and if it all feels a little déjà vu, it is because we were only there 16 weeks ago. It was the inaugural race in Jeddah in 2021, with the fastest track on the calendar, everyone typically predicted there would be much high speed; what they did not predict is that there would be HIGH drama. Two red flags, multiple crashes, a game of Deal or No Deal and a tense prequel to a dramatic final, let’s just say it was an insane race for sure!
The cars are radically different this year and there are a few new faces at the front, but to get our heads back around this track, here is a brief breakdown of what happened last time out in Jeddah.
Deep breaths and here we go….
Qualifying
Verstappen was about to pull off what could have been his greatest pole qualifying lap (since Hamilton in 2018 for Singapore GP), but he locks up and clips the wall on the last corner of his final run. Front running order started with Hamilton on Pole, Bottas P2, Verstappen P3. The tension only got hotter in this title battle.
Race Day
Lap 1
Mercedes had a fantastic start, keeping their 1-2 with Verstappen in third. Perez locked up in the first corner and nearly crashes into the back of his teammate – that would not have been a pretty sight.
Lap 10
A Haas spins into the barrier at the Turn 21/22 complex, and surprisingly it is Schumacher, not Mazepin. The incident triggers a safety car under which many drivers pit, including both Mercedes as Verstappen chose to stay out and continue.
Lap 13
To repair the barrier, the race is red flagged, allowing Verstappen to retain the lead and also gain a free pit stop.
Lap 15
A Standing Restart: Hamilton begins to pull away however at the first corner, Verstappen goes off the track, gaining track position which forced Hamilton wide. In the confusion, Esteban Ocon brilliantly slips in between the two into second place.
After the first few corners, Perez is hit by Leclerc, and Nikita Mazepin goes into the back of Russell, as opposed his usual spinning into him. The collision causes another red flag! At this point, we all realised this was going to be a long afternoon.
During this red flag, we are treated to an intriguing game of Deal or No Deal over the FIA radio between Michael Masi and Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull’s Sporting Director. With some confusion on all sides, eventually Red Bull agree that if Ocon leads, they are happy to drop Verstappen back to third behind Hamilton. No boxes full of money, but entertaining nonetheless.
At this point we have only made it to lap 15. Let’s keep going.
Lap 17-18
So begins our second restart of the race: Verstappen takes the lead as Hamilton is squeezed between both him and Ocon. However, by Lap 18, Hamilton is back up to second and hot on Verstappen’s heels.
Lap 23
Yuki Tsunoda makes contact with Sebastian Vettel at Turn 3 and ends up in the barrier, losing his front wing, which prompts a virtual safety car.
We then have a brief break from the drama until…….
Lap 37
Hamilton uses DRS to overtake Verstappen down the main straight, however both nearly make contact in the first corner and must bail out – Verstappen through the runoff, Hamilton on the track. Verstappen leads.
It was decided at some point during this lap that Verstappen would need to give the place back; sadly, we are not treated to this episode of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire over the FIA radio. Unfortunately, this is where it gets messy…whilst giving the place back towards the end of the lap, Hamilton runs into Verstappen and loses a bit of his front wing.
Opinions are divided:
Red Bull and Max Verstappen claimed he was giving the place back and breaked for Hamilton to pass around him.
There is obvious confusion for Hamilton when he approaches Verstappen’s car; his reaction along with Mercedes is that he was brake-tested.
Back to the race! No serious damage to the cars, means they can continue racing. We are however, still waiting to hear how Toto Wolff’s Bose headphones are doing.
Lap 42
Verstappen finally lets Hamilton past in the DRS zone, a clever tactic, then lunges down the inside, retakes the lead and now has DRS from the detection zone to hold off Hamilton down the main straight.
Lap 43
Nevertheless, the plot twist continues! At the start of this lap, it is announced that Verstappen has a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Initially everyone is confused what exactly it is for, but then this is clarified the penalty was for the lap 37 incident. Verstappen did (albeit briefly) give the place back, so questions were asked if he was being double punished? Was this the stewards attempts to make amends for Brazil?
Then comes the announcement that the collision between Verstappen and Hamilton will be investigated after the race. A possible penalty in the final race where it looks like the championship will be decided?! THE DRAMA!
Hamilton retakes the lead at the end of this lap and starts to pull away.
Last 7 Laps
Red Bull are in a tricky position – if they pit for fresh softs to stop Hamilton from getting fastest lap, the time penalty would drop Verstappen behind Ocon, risking finishing in third. Without Perez to assist, they decide to keep Verstappen out.
Hamilton sees the chequered flag, finishing also with the fastest lap with Verstappen ending the race in second with a large enough buffer to third to absorb his penalty. There is a fierce battle for third between Ocon and Bottas, with the Mercedes driver beating Ocon to the line, grabbing a double podium for the Silver Arrows.
And breathe! That race was intense, so let us hope we see the same levels of entertainment without so much commotion this race weekend. Bono summed up the race brilliantly over the radio at the end: ‘Get in there Lewis – that has got to be the craziest race I remember.’
Given Mercedes aerodynamic issues, their current lack of pace will not make them competitive in Jeddah again this weekend. We can expect some hard duelling again between Ferrari and Red Bull, however there are some things to note ahead of the race:
During the 2021 race, the hard tyres (C4 compound) lasted over 30 laps for the title contenders. It will be interesting to see how the hard tyres perform in the higher temperatures this weekend, especially after the challenges they caused for some of the drivers in Bahrain.
It is a bumpier track with lots of twists, so more porpoising can be expected.
Jeddah is high-speed circuit with no room for error! So we’ll expect more red flags and unfortunately potentially some collisions. As we saw during the F1 and F2 races last season, the crashes on this track are extensive so with the drivers still getting to grips with the new cars and with much closer fights on-track, there is probably some caution from the teams on collisions.
Will Verstappen finally complete that perfect qualifying lap?
So, let’s hold our breathes again and see what happens when the lights go out! Enjoy the race.
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