And so begins the most intense week (and a bit) in F1 in some time.
The Burning Questions
So, does round 21 go to Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen?
Will Mercedes or Red Bull prove to have the stronger package around the world’s fastest street circuit?
Can McLaren do anything to keep their fight against Ferrari for third alive?
The Track
The Stats
- Track Length: 6.174 km
- Laps: 50
- Race Distance: 308.450 km
- Maximum Speed: 330 km/h
- Lap Time at Full Throttle: 72%
- First Grand Prix: 2021
- Race Lap Record: n/a
- Outright Lap Record: n/a
- Most Driver Wins: n/a
- Most Constructor Wins: n/a
The Trivia
- Jeddah features a calendar-high 27 corners, four more than the previous record at Singapore
- In 1970 – the final year that Spa-Francorchamps was run as a true ‘road course’ – Chris Amon lapped at an average of 244.7 km/h. Whether you regard the old Spa as a true street track or not, Jeddah looks set to be comfortably quicker than that, and all of the other street tracks on the 2021 calendar
- The track is one of only three on the 2021 calendar to feature three DRS zones
The Weather
The Quotes
Lewis Hamilton | “Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do. But it’s not my choice to be here. The sport has taken the choice to be here. If anyone wants to take the time to read what the law is for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s pretty terrifying. There’s changes that need to be made.
Max Verstappen | “We just have to try to put a good car on the track, and then of course you need to get comfortable driving as well because the track layout is very quick and not a lot of room for error. It’s a special track. We don’t really know what our competitors are going to do. We always try to do the best we can.”
Fernando Alonso | “I felt that we were building something even before the podium because the team had some weaknesses that we saw very early in the year. We worked on those throughout 2021 and I think we’ll be more ready in 2022. The podium for sure brings an extra boost for everyone.”
Stefano Domenicali | “[Sir Frank Williams] was a true giant of our sport that overcame the most difficult of challenges in life and battled every day to win on and off the track. We have lost a much loved and respected member of the F1 family and he will be hugely missed.”
The Friday Form
Practice 2 Top 5
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:29.018 | 22 Laps
2 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:29.079 | 23 Laps
3 | Pierre Gasly | 1:29.099 | 22 Laps
4 | Max Verstappen | 1:29.213 | 20 Laps
5 | Fernando Alonso | 1:29.441 | 21 Laps
Practice 1 Top 5
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:29.786 | 21 Laps
2 | Max Verstappen | 1:29.842 | 23 Laps
3 | Valtteri Bottas | 1:30.009 | 24 Laps
4 | Pierre Gasly | 1:30.263 | 28 Laps
5 | Antonio Giovinazzi | 1:30.318 | 27 Laps
The Photos
The Predictions
Podium
Pole Position
Fastest Lap
Driver of the Day
