The outlook for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
The qualifications for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix once again gave birth to a grid that promises new exciting battles on the track and in the pit wall. Let's review the various points of interest of this second race of the year.
A Ferrari – Red Bull battle until the end of the night?
Sergio Perez clearly surprised the entire paddock with his incredible lap at the end of Q3. Even Charles Leclerc admitted that he hadn’t anticipated that the Mexican could beat him. The grid is therefore incredibly tight, as the two Red Bulls sandwich the two Ferraris. The battle at the first corner is therefore expected to be crucial.
If Sergio Perez manages to hold onto the advantage, he may have done the hardest part as Red Bull seems to have a better top speed on the straight, while Ferrari seems more comfortable in the very tight first sector.
We know that Red Bull is putting all its efforts on Max Verstappen with a view to the championship and could sacrifice the race of the poleman in favor of the Dutch driver, who was complaining about having no grip during his last stints.
The four-way battle promises to be very exciting, especially if the trend in Bahrain is confirmed, namely that the cars are now able to closely follow each other.
How far back can Lewis Hamilton go?
Three months ago, poleman on the corniche of Jeddah, Lewis Hamilton found himself eliminated in Q1! In recent years, this would have seemed like a surprise but not a tragedy. Just remember the Brazilian Grand Prix last year where the British driver started last in the sprint race following a disqualification, before climbing into the top 10 on Saturday and winning on Sunday.
But the W13 doesn’t seem to have the pace of Brackley’s previous creations. While there is hope with his teammate George Russell’s sixth place, this time the task seems much more complicated. It can be imagined that he will opt for a different strategy from the rest of the pack, starting with hard tires that would allow him to take advantage of one or more safety car interventions, always a factor to consider on an urban circuit, especially when it is as fast as the Saudi track.
The midfield battle
If the two ends of the grid seem quite defined (Red Bull and Ferrari at the top, Williams and Aston Martin at the bottom), the midfield is even tighter than in recent years. The Q3 times are enough to convince oneself as only 184 milliseconds separate the fifth place of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and the ninth place of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri. Kevin Magnussen’s Haas could have joined the battle if he hadn’t been betrayed by his neck during his last attempt.
Furthermore, McLaren seemed less off the pace than last week, even though Daniel Ricciardo will have to serve a three-place penalty for impeding Esteban Ocon during the qualifying session.
The fight for points is expected to be extremely intense, which should result in another spectacular race, especially at such speeds between the walls.
