Jeddah GP Preview: Drama, Grid Penalties and Mid-Field Battles in the Fastest Street Track of the F1 Calendar
It’s round 2 of the 2023 F1 Season and there is already drama up and down the paddock. Will the Tifosi Fans continue to suffer with the heartbreak this weekend or will Ferrari emerge out of their unreliability issues as winners?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’d by now know that Charles Leclerc will be taking a 10-grid penalty this weekend in Saudi Arabia due to being forced to take on the third control electronics component after his retirement in Bahrain 2 weeks ago. Carlos Sainz will also take on a new combustion engine for the weekend as a further precaution for Ferrari. Further down the paddock, Lando Norris will be taking a host of power unit components while at Red Bull, Sergio Perez also takes on a new Energy Store and control electronics, along with a new gearbox case and cassette. Currently, with all these changes, Leclerc is the only driver taking grid penalties. Leclerc stated on Thursday that he likes these challenges and sounds hopeful that he will be in the front as quick as possible.
The Jeddah Circuit is a fairly new addition to the F1 calendar with this year being the 3rd year that F1 travels to Saudi Arabia. It is the fastest street track on the calendar. In 2022 we saw only 13 cars out of the 20 take the chequered flag on Sunday due to a lot of cars suffering from overheating and had to retire their cars. Both years that F1 has been to Jeddah in the past we have seen at least 1 Red Flag or a safety car which always throws a spanner in the works for the team strategists keeping them on their toes. Sergio Perez last year lost the lead and dropped to 3rd after taking an early pitstop with a VSC caming out shortly after. Sergio Perez ended up taking 4th in the end after a very impressive 1st career pole position.
Will we see Aston Martin challenging for podiums again this weekend after an Alonso masterclass drive in Bahrain? Aston Martin this year seems to have detached itself from the midfield and looks to be a challenger to both Ferrari and Mercedes, while Red Bull seems to be currently untouchable. Sergio Perez 2 joked in the post-race interview in Bahrain to the press calling the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso the third Redbull as he states “It’s good to see three Red Bull cars on the podium”. Will Mercedes give up on their narrow side pods concept, or will we see them continuing to develop this concept to become a challenger to Ferrari, Aston Martin, and maybe Red Bull?
Max Verstappen arrived late to the weekend on Friday in time for FP1 due to a stomach bug where he will be trying to put that all behind him and will be looking to continue on the great start he has had in Bahrain by winning out in Jeddah for the 2nd time after he managed to clinch the victory from Charles Leclerc last year-round after their great DRS battle they had in the last 8 laps of the race or will Sergio Perez be able to take the challenge to Max and get his redemption win here in Jeddah?
Challenges Ahead: Ferrari's Unreliability and Verstappen's Stomach Bug at the Jeddah GP
Who will emerge victor in the midfield battle? Will Mclaren get their package working properly so we can see what the Papaya team can do? Have Alpine and Ocon learned their lesson in Bahrain and had a penalty-free race? And will Albon in the Williams continue with their great start they had last race out after getting points on the first race of the season for the first time in 6 years? Haas and Alfa Romeo with the Ferrari power unit should be good challengers this weekend for the midfield with the lower tyre degradation on this track but will the Ferrari reliability issues be also playing on the back of their minds hoping the same issues don’t impact them during this season.
Lewis Hamilton 7 time world champion took to Instagram to announce his split with Angela Cullen on Friday after 7 years working together saying: “For the last seven years [Angela] has been by my side, pushing me to be the best version of myself. I am a stronger athlete and a better person because of her.”
“So today I hope you’ll join me in wishing her the very best as she takes her next steps to pursue her dreams. Thank you for everything Ang, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.”
Angela was Hamilton’s Trainer and Physiotherapist who was by his side for 6 of the 7 world championships that Hamilton has won, Lewis is preparing for the race on Sunday on the track he last took a victory back in 2021.
All in all, I think we are in for a good race full of overtakes and great battles and I can’t wait to see it all unfold. Who will you be routing for and who do you think will take the chequered flag this Sunday?
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