#F1 STC #SaudiArabianGP 2024 Race Preview. #Formula1 #SaudiArabiaGP
Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 Race Start, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Image credit to Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images. 2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview, F1 Saudi Arabian GP Preview, Alpine F1 2024 News, 2024 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP Preview.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – After Max Verstappen cruised to his 53rd-career victory at the season-opening Bahrain GP, round two of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship heads to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on the streets of Jeddah, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia this weekend for the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024. This will be the fourth running of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is scheduled to run on Saturday to accommodate Ramadan, which begins on March 10.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – A Look At The Jeddah Corniche Circuit
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a temporary street circuit (albeit with some permanent sections) located on the Corniche, a 30-kilometre coastal resort area of the ancient Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia. The circuit is being built adjoined to the Red Sea and the track was designed by Carsten Tilke, son of circuit designer Hermann Tilke.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is described as “The fastest street track” on the Formula One calendar with the cars simulated hit average speeds in excess of 250kph (160mph), with the track being the second longest circuit on the F1 schedule, with the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps being the longest.
The circuit runs in an anti-clockwise direction and is 6.174km (3.836 miles) in length with 27 corners.
The race distance is 308.450 kilometres (191.662 miles) with 50 laps in total.
The fastest lap of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is currently held by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Briton posted a 1:30.734 at the 2021 inaugural event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W12 EQ Performance entry.
Sir Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have each won the event once.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – Onboard Pole Lap of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last year’s event, set by Sergio Perez in his Oracle Red Bull Racing-Honda-RBPT RB19 racer. The Mexican posted a 1:28.285. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXWmmUxsw64
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Jeddah, the C2 white side-walled Hard compounds, the C3 yellow-marked Medium tyres and the C4 red-branded Soft rubber. F1’s sole tyre supplier will also take along the green-branded Intermediates and the blue-branded Wet tyres in case of rain.
All drivers will have eight sets of the C4 softs, three sets of the C3 mediums and two of the C2 hards.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – DRS Zones
There will be three DRS zones at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit with the first DRS detection point just after turn 17 before with the initial activation zone between turns 20-22. The second detection point is positioned right where the first activation zone ends with the second DRS zone just before the turn 25 left-hander to the final corner. The final detection zone is just before the last corner turn 27 with the final DRS activation point on the main-straight into turn one.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speeds will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI – Verstappen cruises to dominant season-opening Bahrain GP victory
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen lead from start-to-finish and from team-mate Sergio Perez to take a dominant Bahrain GP victory in a Red Bull Racing one-two as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium.
When the 57-lap Bahrain GP began, pole-sitter Verstappen got a solid start and covers Leclerc into turn one causing the Ferrari driver to back-off into turn one.
Behind them Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg suffered front wing damage after contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll sending the latter into a half-spin.
At the end of the opening lap, Verstappen held a one second gap over Leclerc, with Mercedes’ George Russell third, the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez fourth as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five.
Hulkenberg had no choice but to pit for a new front wing due to damage and put on a fresh set of the C1 harder compounds and emerged at the rear.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got overtaken on the main-straight into turn one on the inside by Lando Norris as the Briton moved up into sixth place.
Russell with DRS assistance dived on the inside of Leclerc into turn three to snatch second-place from the Monegasque driver.
Leclerc suffered two lock-ups in succession bringing Perez and Sainz right behind him.
At the beginning of lap six, Verstappen’s lead increased to 3.973 seconds over second-placed Russell with Leclerc third, Perez fourth as Sainz rounded out the top five.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also like his team-mate with DRS assistance dived to the inside of Alonso into turn one to move up into seventh place.
On lap seven with DRS assistance in the battle for third, Perez went around the outside of Leclerc (who suffered another lock-up into turn ten) and made the move stick into turn 11 to grab the position and also managed to cover the Ferrari drivers’ attack again into turn one.
Lap nine, Leclerc suffered another lock-up into turn one, bringing team-mate Sainz even closer in the fight for fourth as the former complained over the team radio of oversteer with the rear tyres sliding.
At the start of lap ten, race leader Verstappen’s gap was up to 7.852 seconds over Russell with Perez third, Leclerc fourth as Sainz completed the top five runners,
Whilst Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant pulled off at turn one due to an issue and managed to get going again.
Meanwhile on the 11th tour, Sainz with DRS assistance got a solid slipstream on his team-mate Leclerc and dived-up the inside into turn one and overtook the Monegasque driver into turn one.
A lap later, Russell and Leclerc both pitted for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 12th and 14th respectively as the former managed to cover Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas into turn three.
A tour later, Perez reacted for a fresh set of hards along with Hamilton as Perez slotted in behind Russell in ninth as Hamilton emerged behind Piastri in 12th place.
Russell made short work of Ricciardo passing the Australian into the final former as Norris made his stop and emerged behind team-mate Piastri.
At turn 14, Perez put Russell right under pressure and with DRS assistance into turn one as the latter covered the Red Bull, but however, the former kept right behind the Briton with DRS assistance into turn three and performed the switchback to overtake the Mercedes and snatch second place.
Sainz made his stop from second place on lap 16 for his fresh set of hards and came out behind team-mate Leclerc in seventh place.
Alonso stopped on lap 16 along with Williams’ Alexander Albon as both emerged in 10th and 14th respectively.
The order at the beginning of lap the yet-to-pit race leader Verstappen held a 30.734 second lead over team-mate Perez who was second, Russell third, as Ferrari’s Sainz with DRS assistance got into the slipstream of his team-mate and made a late-lunge into turn one to overtake the Monegasque driver a second time to move up into fourth place.
Race leader Verstappen stopped on lap 18 for his fresh sets of hards and came out comfortably clear of team-mate Perez.
And around the outside of Russell with DRS assistance, Sainz overtook Russell into third place meanwhile Leclerc was reporting more issues and suffered another lock-up into turn ten.
Behind them, Hamilton and Alonso made their way past Alfa Romeo’s Zhou to take eighth and ninth respectively.
Verstappen set a 1:35.283, which was the fastest lap of the Grand Prix on lap 20 as his lead increased to over 6.952 seconds over team-mate Perez with Sainz third, Russell fourth as Leclerc completed the top five.
Fourth-placed Russell was suffering power-unit issues whilst his Mercedes team-mate was enduring battery problems and Leclerc kept saying his SF-24 racer was turning to the right.
Hulkenberg pitted for the second time on lap 22 for more hard tyres and came out in 19th.
On lap 23, both Mercedes drivers with their power-train related issues were reported to lift and coast to manage their problems.
The 25th tour saw Verstappen’s lead up to 10.954 seconds over Red Bull team-mate Perez with Sainz holding third, whilst Russell and Leclerc managing their issues were in fourth and fifth respectively as Norris is slowly catching the duo.
The lifting and coasting was due to overheating issues for both Mercedes when running in traffic, whilst Hamilton also reported his seat was broken on the radio.
On lap 29, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu pitted from 11th place for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 17th place behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
The 30th tour saw race leader Verstappen’s lead up to 15.451 seconds over team-mate Perez with Sainz a further 2.548 seconds off the Mexican in third, Russell held fourth and was a further 9.417 seconds back as Leclerc completed the top five.
On the 32nd lap, Russell pitted from fourth placed for another set of the C1 white-marked hards and came out in ninth place behind Alonso meanwhile Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas suffered a very slow pit stop with front-left tyre issue, with a 52.2 second stop and came out in 19th place.
Lap 34 saw Norris and Hamilton stop for another set of hards and emerged in eighth and ninth respectively behind Alonso.
The following tour saw both Leclerc and Piastri pit for hards as both drivers came out in sixth and eighth places respectively, however Hamilton took advantage of Piastri slide at turn one with the latter slipping as the Briton took eight off the Australian.
Sainz made his stop a lap later for a set of hards and emerged comfortable in third place in-front of Russell as Leclerc with DRS made his way past Alonso to take fifth place off the Spaniard.
With 20 laps remaining, Verstappen’s lead was up to 19 seconds over team-mate Perez (who pitted for a set of softs) to cover Sainz with Russell fourth as Leclerc rounded out the top five.
Norris on the rundown to turn 11 made short work of Alonso to grab sixth place.
Race leader Verstappen pitted for a fresh set of softs on lap 38 and came out easily in-front of his team-mate Perez as the Dutchman’s Grand Prix continued trouble-free.
Lap 39 with DRS assistance in the battle for seventh place, Hamilton got a solid slipstream on Alonso and dived on the inside of his former team-mate to move up a place.
The next tour saw Verstappen set another fastest lap making use of his fresh softer rubber, meanwhile Piastri also made his way past Alonso to snatch eighth place.
On lap 42, Alonso stopped from ninth place for a fresh set of hards and emerged in 11th place behind Zhou.
On lap 43 in the fight for fourth intensified as Leclerc moved much closer to Russell’s F1 W15, making his way into DRS range.
A tour later with DRS assistance, Alonso made use of his fresher hards and with DRS assistance took tenth place off Zhou diving up the inside of the Sauber into turn four.
Lap 46 saw Russell suffer a lock-up into turn ten running wide as Leclerc ran alongside the Briton on the rundown to turn 11 and with DRS assistance made his way ahead of the Mercedes to take fourth place.
With ten laps remaining Verstappen held a 17.615 second lead over team-mate Perez with Sainz third, Leclerc fourth as Russell completed the top five.
On lap 48 with the fresher rubber, Alonso with DRS assistance jumped into ninth place overtaking his team-mate Stroll into turn one.
Lap 52, saw RB have a bit of an intra-team battle with Tsunoda ordered to let team-mate Ricciardo through and the former let the Australian through at an awkward placed between turns five and six allowing Magnussen to pull clear and all three drivers were cleared by race leader Verstappen.
Tsunoda said to his team sarcastically: “Thanks guys, I appreciate it.”
Ricciardo ran out of laps to try and overtake Magnussen and remained in 13th.
Verstappen crossed the line to win the Bahrain GP by 22.457 seconds over his team-mate Perez to take his 55th-career victory whilst Sainz finished in the final podium place.
Ferrari’s Leclerc came home fourth and in-front of the Mercedes duo Russell and Hamilton who were fifth and seventh respectively as McLaren pairing Norris and Piastri placed in sixth and eighth.
Aston Martin duo Alonso and Stroll rounded out the final points places in ninth and tenth.
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’s Zhou finished outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Haas F1’s Magnussen who was 12th and the RB duo of Ricciardo and Tsunoda who were 13th and 14th respectively.
Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon settled for 15th and in-front of the other Haas VF-24 entry of Hulkenberg who took 16th and Alpine pairing Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly who placed 17th and 18th in the classification.
Sauber’s Bottas and Williams’ Sargeant brought up the rear.
Alpine undergo management structure change
BWT Alpine F1 Team’s unsettled 12 months continued with the announcement that Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk De Beer have left the Enstone based-outfit.
Following the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix – which saw Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly start from the rear of the grid, with neither driver able to score any points in the A524 – it was announced Harman and De Beer have left the team.
The announcement came after a raft of high-level changes in 2023, with Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, Sporting Director Alane Permane, Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry and CEO Laurent Rossi all leaving – With Bruno Famin confirmed as the full-time Team Principal earlier this year.
After Harman and De Beer’s departures, Alpine’s structure has morphed into a trio of Technical Directors, with David Wheater Technical Director (Aerodynamics), John Burnell as Technical Director (Engineering) and Ciaron Pilbeam as Technical Director (Performance). The three will work closely together with Team Principal Famin with immediate effect.
On the power-train side, The technical team in Viry is lead by Eric Meignan Technical Director (Power-Train) who continues to work on the 2026 project. The Enstone based-squad can also confirm the start of Chief Operating Officer John Woods at the Enstone factory and Audrey Vastroux at Viry-Chatillon to continue the development of the factories behind the Formula 1 project.
Team Principal Famin stated: “We have decided to make these organisational changes as we can clearly see that we are not where we want nor need to be in terms of performance level and it is time to take another step in terms of organisation and people. The new three-pillared structure with three Technical Directors, each specialising in different areas, will bring better work and collaboration across our technical areas and contribute to delivering performance from the factories to the race track. I trust fully in the abilities of Joe, David and Ciaron to work closely together in bringing the team the performance and improvements that it needs. Finally, I would like to thank Matt and Dirk for their efforts over the last couple of years at the team and wish them the very best in the next chapter of their careers.” Famin concluded. Credit to Alpine for the quote.
Alpine sits at the bottom of the Constructor’s Championship after the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, one of five outfits – along with Sauber, Haas, RB and Williams – who failed to score any points in round one.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Preview – The Situation
Formula 1 visits Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the field looks to stop reigning world champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.
Pre-season testing and the season-opening Grand Prix were held in Bahrain, so the teams will get another opportunity to see where they sit in the order on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The track is a very fast street circuit with twisty walls waiting to punish the drivers for any errors, so those who are the bravest will stand out.
As was the case last weekend, the sessions are a day earlier than usual, meaning Free Practice 1 and 2 will be on Thursday, Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Friday and the 50-lap Grand Prix on Saturday. This is due to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan beginning this Sunday.
Defending race winner Sergio Perez will be looking to get on terms with team-mate Verstappen this weekend after finishing second in Bahrain.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc enjoys racing on street circuits, so the Monegasque driver could be the driver who challenges the Red Bull pairing, along with his team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Jeddah was the last track that seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton won at, dating back to December 21, and Mercedes are aiming for a podium following a disappointing season-opener for the Silver Arrows.
McLaren and Aston Martin look set to be in the mix too, so keep a watchful eye on Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso.
Reigning world champion Verstappen heads to Jeddah on top of World Driver’s Championship with 26 points and an eight-point lead over Red Bull team-mate Perez who is second on 18 points whilst Carlos Sainz is a further 11 behind the Dutchman in third on 15 points.
Defending World Constructor’s Champions Oracle Red Bull Racing comes to Saudi Arabia sitting on top of the standings with 44 points and a 17-point advantage over nearest rivals Scuderia Ferrari who are second on 27 points whilst Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team are third and a further 28 points behind the Milton Keynes based-outfit on 16 points.
Who will come out on top?
Click here for the 2024 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings
The Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 weekend begins Thursday March 7 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and the Qualifying Friday March 8 and the 50-lap Race Saturday March 9.
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