As I write this on Friday night/Saturday morning, it is after 1am in Saudi Arabia and the drivers have been in a meeting with F1 management for hours, seemingly expressing their concerns about the safety of the race and its attendees. A missile strike hitting an Aramco plant occurred on Friday afternoon just 7 miles from the track and smoke could be seen in the sky from track footage during the Free Practice sessions. F1 have announced that all teams are onboard with the race going ahead, though it was clear there was some discussion between teams and drivers in the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association with some concerns. Assuming the situation doesn’t escalate and the Grand Prix goes ahead as planned, there are a few things to look out for this weekend.
First of all, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is unforgiving. Whichever driver is able to use the track to its absolute limits without ending up in a wall will be rewarded, especially in Qualifying. Last year, Max Verstappen was on track to claim pole from Lewis Hamilton at an absolutely crucial stage of the title fight when he pushed just a little too hard and clipped the wall in the final corner. Drivers and press have still not forgotten the lap that could have been. Hosts of the BBC Radio 5 Live F1 Chequered Flag Podcast claimed that Verstappen's lap, had it not ended with his error, would have been one of the greatest qualifying laps of F1 history, on par with Lewis Hamilton’s 2018 Singapore GP qualifying. As it stands, Verstappen and Leclerc remain the favourite contenders for pole. I’m sure it’s not just me who is reminded of Charles Leclerc’s pole blunder in Monaco last year. If he can avoid making that same mistake, could he be taking a consecutive pole position this weekend?
Not that I want to keep returning to last season, but there's no way we can enter this race weekend without reflecting on the madness that unfolded in Jeddah last year. As a lover of chaos, the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was one of my favourite races of the season. For me, it was when the ridiculousness of the Red Bull vs Mercedes, Max vs Lewis, everyone vs the FIA, media battle reached its peak. First, we had Mick Schumacher ending up in the wall which brought out a safety car that turned into a red flag, again taking place this weekend in Qualifying. It is such great news to see him fit and well, although Haas will only be running Kevin Magnussen’s car due to the car damage. Going back to last year’s incident, this is when Verstappen was able to change his tyres without a pit stop, which naturally prompted Mercedes to complain (while conveniently leaving out that Lewis did the same thing at Silverstone…). There was overtaking off track, infamous team radios with Michael Masi, and then the jaw-dropping moment where Lewis crashed into the back of Max while he was supposedly letting him past. And all of this was before lap 37. Will we see the same amount of shenanigans from teams and drivers this weekend? We don’t have the same intensity of the championship fight coming to a close, but never say never!
It’s only been 16 weeks since F1’s last outing on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but so much has changed. Teams are still struggling, some more than others, to get a complete understanding of their cars in this new aerodynamic era. McLaren are one team that desperately need a good weekend in Saudi Arabia. With the Jeddah circuit being extremely fast with fewer braking zones than Bahrain, hopefully Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris can at least pull themselves into the points. Haas will surely be looking for a repeat of last week's performance, but with only one car running with Magnussen who barely raced at all in either practice sessions during his first visit to this circuit, he’s not starting on the best foot. Although still pegged as front runners, Ferrari didn’t have a spectacular Friday either. Both drivers made contact with the wall during FP2, perhaps showing how close to the edge of performance they are. Though, I have to say their Qualifying performance showed promise of what this team can do.
Although both night races in the desert, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia provide vastly different circuits. I’m excited to see if last week reflects the true order of the field, or if the demands of this tricky street circuit will give other teams an opportunity to excel.
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