One week after the inaugural race in Bahrain, the Saudi Arabian GP will be held this Saturday. Sergio Perez won last year – thanks to a mechanical failure in Qualifying for Max Verstappen and a strong performance overall. For the SF-23, Jeddah represented the lowest point of the season.
Ferrari’s limited load complicated things for Sainz and Leclerc. This was particularly significant on race day, with Fred Vasseur citing this weekend as pivotal in the team’s weekend.
The most competitive cars were Red Bull and Aston Martin, which had the ability to generate a lot of aerodynamic load:
In this sense, Ferrari and McLaren should be better suited to the Jeddah circuit. Their objective will be to apply more pressure on Verstappen and Red Bull.
Further back, Aston Martin will have to contend with Haas, Racing Bulls, Stake and Williams for the points.
Saudi Arabia GP: Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren attempt to attack Red Bull’s dominance
In total contrast to Bahrain, there are only two low-speed corners in Jeddah. One is the first chicane, with a rapid change of direction, and the other is the final corner.
DRS Efficiency will be very important, with this being an area that Red Bull capitalised on last season. This year, Ferrari appears to have closed the gap in terms of DRS efficiency.
Meanwhile, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin suffered more in Bahrain in this respect. There are detection zones, which would create a dynamic race on Saturday. In the first sector, Red Bull and McLaren will likely be competitive.
Ferrari’s pace in Bahrain indicates they could struggle slightly owing to a lack of agility. The second sector could reward Red Bull the most. Cars that perform well in medium-speed will thrive here.
In the final stretch, Red Bull’s DRS will certainly be useful to Verstappen and Perez – especially in the flying lap.
This is also where the new Ferrari wing could be critical. Finally, Mercedes can improve the result in Bahrain if the cooling problems experienced last week are resolved.
Jeddah will facilitate the choice of set-ups with lower ground clearances. The pecking order for the Saudi Arabia GP should begin emerging from Thursday.
Ferrari did not have a clean weekend in Bahrain, both in qualifying and on race day. Taking away the time lost from Leclerc’s brake issues, the 26-year-old was about three-tenths behind Verstappen on average.
Bahrain is historically a good track for the Maranello team, but the characteristics of the new SF-24 do not perfectly suit it. There is optimism that Jeddah could be a better circuit for the Italian team.
The variables, as in Bahrain, will be many, starting from the question mark in the very fast sections, passing through the different compounds brought by Pirelli. Still, Ferrari arrives at the Saudi Arabian GP with the aim of improving.
Further back, the ‘midfield’ group is extremely close, between Haas, Racing Bulls, Stake and Williams. The dynamics here will change from one weekend to another.
Aston Martin’s struggles in high-fuel (due to a lack of aerodynamic load) mean they could struggle more in the Saudi Arabian GP than in Bahrain.
Haas worked hard over the winter and during testing to find consistency between qualifying and the race.
Only an unlucky turn 1 incident took away Hulkenberg’s chance to fight for points. Further back, Stake could get closer if they improve qualifying pace.
The Racing Bulls and Williams were quite competitive at medium/high speed compared to the midfield competition. Lastly, Alpine could pay less for the problem of excessive weight on a less stop-and-go track.
However, they could pay a bigger penalty for their engine deficit at the Corniche circuit.
Saudi Arabian GP updates: Racing Bulls bring new sidepods
Among the disappointments of the first weekend was undoubtedly the Racing Bulls. The Faenza team did not maximize the VCARB01 package in Bahrain, also suffering an unnecessary debacle between Tsunoda and Ricciardo.
RB’s first 2024 upgrades are expected in Jeddah. They are targeted at improving the cooling system, which could lead to a small change in the Italian single-seater’s aerodynamic appearance.
Ferrari and Aston Martin will be the other teams to bring updates this weekend, largely in adaptation to the Jeddah circuit.
Fred Vasseur’s team brings a new rear wing, already tested in Maranello on the occasion of the 200km Filming Day in February.
On the AMR24, there will be small updates as they wait for the first large seasonal packages.
Along the lines of what happened in the three previous editions of this race, Pirelli has selected the three middle compounds for their range:
C2s are the Hards, C3 are Mediums and C4s will be Softs. The very smooth and low abrasive asphalt makes the Saudi Arabian GP a one-stop race, switching from C3 to C2, a compound little used in Sakhir.
The pressures are similar to those of last season, which, following free practice, were slightly increased.
Since it is a city track, the escape routes are rather limited and the risk of accidents is quite high, with a consequent high possibility of seeing the Safety Car on the track or a red flag being called.
As often happens on city tracks, the evolution of the track will be rapid.
The timing of the Qualifying lap will be fundamental to maximize the grip of the track and avoid traffic in the first sector.
As in Sakhir, the FP1 and FP3 sessions will be during the day, while FP2, Qualifying and Race will take place under artificial lights.
The times of the Saudi Arabian GP, live on Sky Sports F1, in Italy:
- Free Practice 1 – Thursday, 2.30 pm
- Free Practice 2 – Thursday, 6.00 pm
- Free Practice 3 – Friday, 2.30 pm
- Qualifying – Friday, 6.00 pm
- Race – Saturday, 6.00 pm
Author: Andrea Vergani
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
