As we approach the second race of the year, let's learn more about the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
TRACK STATS
Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Time Zone: UTC+03:00
First Grand Prix: 2021
Number of Laps: 50
Number of Turns: 27
Number of DRS Zones: 3
Circuit Length: 6.175km/3.83mi
Race Distance: 308.45km
Top Speed: 205.052 mph
Capacity: 50,000
Temperature: Highs of 31° and lows of 20° with 0% chance of rain in March
Track Elevation: 0m
Lap Record: 1:30.734 set by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes W12 (F1, 202)
Most Wins: Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Pérez, and Max Verstappen have all won one time
Designed By: Carsten Tilke
Interesting Fact: The Jeddah Corniche Circuit has the most corners and is the second fastest track this season, second to only Monza.
(Photographer Credit: Formula1.com)
2023 JEDDAH GRAND PRIX
As Jeddah is a tight street circuit, over the past three years we have seen the pole sitter win the race more often than not. In 2023 Sergio Perez had a strong qualifying taking pole for Sundays race with a lap time of 1:28.635. Although, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Mexican. Fernando Alonso got his Aston Martin off the line quicker than the Red Bull and managed to put his car in front, although the number 11 was able to regain his lead on lap 4. Alonso picked up a five second penalty for an incorrect starting position; things almost went from bad to worse for Aston Martin after Alonso was given a 10 second penalty for not serving the previous penalty correctly, but this was overturned and he remained in third place.
Max Verstappen qualified in 15th after having driveshaft issues during Q2, but the Dutchman managed a great drive to get himself up to second only behind his teammate. He also got fastest lap with a 1:31.906 on the final lap.
Charles Leclerc also had a lot of work to do after qualifying 12th, the Ferrari driver worked himself up to finish the race in 7th.
Despite a strong start which saw him sitting in fourth position, Lance Stroll had technical issues on lap 18 forcing a retirement and a safety car. Alex Albon was also forced to retire after having issues with his breaks meaning only 18 drivers saw the checkered flag.
The opening lap saw Oscar Piastri pick up some damage seeing him out of the points from the start. Overall it was a bad day for McLaren in a poor start to the season with both their drivers finishing outside the points. Kevin Magnussen, however, managed to overtake Yuki Tsunoda in his Haas with four laps remaining to take the final points position.
At the waving of the chequered flag, Perez finished 1st, with Verstappen in 2nd and Alonso in 3rd for the second race in a row. The rest of the top ten drivers finishing in the points positions were as follows:
4. George Russell - Mercedes
5. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
6. Carlos Sainz - Ferrari
7. Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
8. Esteban Ocon - Alpine
9. Pierre Gasly - Alpine
10. Kevin Magnussen – Haas
(Photographer Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)
2024 JEDDAH GRAND PRIX
What can we expect from Jeddah 2024? Speed and lots of it!
Much like last weeks race in Bahrain, the race will be on Saturday afternoon with practice beginning on Thursday. Based on last week’s race and last seasons domination it would be crazy not to predict another Red Bull victory, after Max Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead of the next car – which was teammate Sergio Perez. Over the past few years Red Bull have dominated at Jeddah, perhaps suggesting the fast paced track suits both their driving styles.
The opening race didn’t provide too much excitement when it came to the winner as Verstappen stormed ahead of the pack, but as we look down the standings it is much tighter with Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren all within a few seconds of each other.
Charles Leclerc had a strong qualifying session but wasn’t able to get ahead of Verstappen in Q3. In the race itself he had issues with his brake temperature being imbalanced which saw him fall down to 4th as he shared he “had difficulty staying on the road, especially in turns 9 and 10” (Formu1a.uno).
Team principle, Fred Vasseur, has stated that “in Jeddah, [they] are all starting from scratch on a completely different layout” (Formu1a.uno) with a more medium-low load rear wing design. The team already had one driver on the podium with Carlos Sainz but will be hoping these adaptations will help apply pressure on Red Bull.
Another of the teams that looked strong last time out and could be ones to watch out for this week were Mercedes, particularly George Russell. The Brit qualified in 3rd just three tenths behind Verstappen, but in the race also had overheating issues seeing him finish 5th ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton in 7th.
Toto wolf explained how Bahrain was “was a frustrating way to start the season” but believes this weekend is “an opportunity to take a step forward immediately” (RaceFans.com).
McLaren, who are already in a better position than last year have 12 points and looks quick against the likes of Lewis Hamilton with Oscar Piastri only losing a track position due to a slow pit stop.
Team Principal, Andrea Stella, commented how the fast upcoming circuit gives them an opportunity to learn more about the MCL38: “We now head to the Saudi Arabian GP, which is a fast street circuit and one that is very different in characteristics to the track in Bahrain. That presents us with a new challenge and a new opportunity to learn about the MCL38 on a fast and flowing circuit.” (Pitpass.com)
Carlos Sainz has also complimented his former Woking based team sharing how he “expect[s] the cars like the McLaren, last year they were very good in high speed circuits, to be competitive” in Jeddah. (PlanetF1.com)
At the other end of the standings, a team that struggled in Bahrain after a tough testing were Alpine leading to the resignation of Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer. The French duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished 17th and 18th respectively having a difficult weekend.
Ocon expressed how he thinks “Jeddah should suit [their] car a little bit better” and he hopes “they are going to be closer to the pack” (F1.com).
Last weeks race also saw some team conflict at the new RB F1 team between drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo with the former unhappy with team orders for the cars to switch. With the competition for the second Red Bull seat being on all their minds, i can see this being a fiery season!
(Photographer Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)
Since its introduction in 2021 Jeddah has had some adaptations to make the track safer, hopefully this means we’ll see another race with all 20 drivers over the line. Comment your predictions below!
Comments