Circuit
IF I was still racing in Formula 1 I think I’d really enjoy the Jeddah circuit. It is a super quick, flat out circuit. It’s incredible to think that this is already the third Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and it could not be more different from the first race in Bahrain. If you make a mistake in Bahrain, there is plenty of space, but the Jeddah track is a street circuit and any mistakes are punished.
The walls are very close to the racing line, and there was a good example of what can happen in 2021 when Max Verstappen hit the wall while on a super quick qualifying run. This circuit does not forgive mistakes.
The first time F1 raced here we saw two red flag stoppages and four virtual safety cars. That tells you a lot about how easy it is to make a mistake. High speeds and solid walls make life diffcult. Even though the track has 27 corners, many of them are flat out thanks to downforce and grip generated by the latest F1 cars. Many drivers have commented about the grip provided by this track, and compared to Bahrain it will be much easier on tyre degradation.
There are four sections of this track where cars are reaching 270-290kph, and the DRS zones are super important. Based on what we have seen in 2021 and 2022 we are going to see a lot of action, close racing and definitely some safety car periods. This is something all the race strategists will be planning for.
Championship Form
Bahrain showed us that Red Bull’s advantage from 2022 has been maintained into this year. They were about 0.3s a lap quicker than the next car, with Ferrari and Aston Martin missing those tenths of a second. I don’t think the gap will be as large in Jeddah, so Red Bull will have to work hard of they want to lock out the front row of the grid in qualifying.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took his first pole position at this circuit last year, but Max Verstappen won the race and I expect the 2022 World Champion to be quickest this weekend. The big question is who will be right behind.
In Bahrain Fernando Alonso was quickest in two out of three practice sessions. It was a very strong debut for him in the Aston Martin. After qualifying fifth he drove a brilliant race to finish third. I expect him to be very quick in qualifying, possibly even splitting the two Ferraris. The podium in Bahrain will have given Fernando a lot of confidence and he will be giving it everything to repeat that performance.
Ferrari’s new boss Frederic Vasseur is confident that his team can take the fight to Red Bull. If they are going to do that, we hope to see it this weekend. Charles Leclerc was very disappointed to suffer a reliability problem with his car in Bahrain, so he and team mate Carlos Sainz will really be hoping for a stronger performance and perfect reliability this time.
Mercedes now has the 4th fastest car in F1, which is a really incredible drop in performance for the team which dominated the World Championship from 2014 to 2020. The team is being incredibly open about their problem with the car, admitting that their concept really is not working.
This is a problem for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, but an opportunity for others. This includes Valtteri Bottas who finished 8th for Alfa Romeo in Bahrain. Valtteri qualified 2nd in Jeddah in 2021, finishing the race 3rd, so it’s a track he enjoys.
Mika’s Tip
Max Verstappen is on top form, so we should expect him to dominate, but my tip is that Charles Leclerc will be much more competitive in the Ferrari in Jeddah and Fernando Alonso will be on maximum attack to give Aston Martin a second podium.
