PRIXVIEW – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Round two of the season and third leg of the triple-header of events, sees F1 head to Jeddah for the second time in four months for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit made its debut on the calendar four months ago, proving to be as predicted a cross between Monaco and Baku.

Jeddah has the most corners on the current calendar at 3.836mi is one of the longest circuits of the season. The fourth night race in a row, second of 2022, should provide plenty of drama as the drivers thread their way through the barriers trying not to make mistakes on track.

During December’s race overtaking proved possible however the circuit can challenge drivers and we saw several safety cars and red flags throughout both qualifying and the race making strategy important. Overtaking is possible but does come with risks, think of it as a mixture of Monaco and Baku.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit located on the red sea coast is the second-longest circuit on the calendar and has targeted Baku as F1’s fastest street circuit. It’s expected to rival Monza and Silverstone in terms of average speed according to the simulations put out by F1.

The circuit runs past large recreation areas, pavilions, and large-scale civic sculptures as well as King Fahd’s Fountain, the highest fountain in the world. The circuit has twenty-three corners and was designed by Carsten Tilke the son of Hermann, who has designed many of the circuits we have seen in the last two decades.

This years race sees minor modifications to the circuit in a bid to improve visibility which could give the drivers more confidence when it comes to overtaking on track. The race is going to be one about strategy and communication as we saw in Bahrain with the strategy being the key to Ferrari’s victory.

Last year Max Verstappen proved the difficulties of the circuit, in Q3 the Red Bull driver had looked quick but on his final run he clipped the wall at Turn Two before at the final corner locked his front left. That lead to the world champion locking up the rear and going into the wall giving Mercedes a front-row lockout.

Meanwhile the race saw several accidents leading to one safety car period, two red flags, and four virtual safety car periods. This race can be also compared to Singapore given its humidity and style of the circuit and this means everyone needs to be on the ball.

Mercedes go into this weekend expecting to be stronger on street circuits than in places like Bahrain, they are however continuing to look for a resolution to the porpoising which in the race appeared to hold them back from challenging Ferrari and Red Bull.

How will Red Bull PT respond to the three engine failures in Sakhir which could place them on the back foot going into the long 2022 campaign and can Ferrari continue to pose Red Bull a headache through the remainder of the season? Answers however will not come until a few races into the season.

Race & Circuit Guide

Fast facts

• Saudi Arabia shares borders with three other countries which host F1 races in the Middle East: Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
• Top speeds at Jeddah Street Circuit reach 322km/h. The average speed of the circuit is over 250km/h. Monza is the only faster circuit on the current calendar.
• Women were forbidden from driving in Saudi Arabia until June 2018. In 2002, the salaries of chauffeurs driving women in the country accounted for 1% of the national income.
• The hairpin at Turn 13 of Jeddah Corniche Circuit features twelve degrees of banking. It’s seven degrees less steep than the banking at Zandvoort.

Event timetable

What happened in 2021?

Lewis Hamilton beat his teammate Valtteri Bottas by a tenth to take pole position, after his title rival Max Verstappen crashed while two tenths up in the first two sectors. The Red Bull driver lost control as he tried to open up the car on the run to the line, sliding into the wall.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc split the two Red Bull’s, in his best qualifying since Istanbul he was six hundredths faster than Sergio Perez. The Mexican complained after the session he was struggling with understeer, which left him two-thousandths of a second ahead of the sister Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly.

Hamilton went on to take victory ahead of Verstappen to tie the championship going to the controversial title decider in Abu Dhabi. The two title contenders pushed each other beyond the limits as they fought for victory in Jeddah, in a race full of incidents and intrigue.

The beginning of the race deciding incident was on lap thirty-seven when Hamilton tried to pass Verstappen, on his second attempt the Mercedes driver ran into the back of Verstappen who appeared to brake test Hamilton. The two made contact with Verstappen being told to let Hamilton past, the contact saw damage to the front win.

The incidents was one of the more minor, in a race which saw incidents unfold every few laps and Hamilton drove a steady race and was given the lead twice by Verstappen, who was deemed by the stewards to cross a line on his final attempt. Arguably the championship is firmly open with the winner takes all in Abu Dhabi.

Race Result – 1) L. Hamilton, Mercedes,   02:06:15.118 2) M. Verstappen, Red Bull – Honda, +00:11.852, 3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, +00:27.531

2021 Lap time comparison

Tyres