The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix took place today for only the second time in the history of F1, last year we were treated with a stunning race and this year it certainly didn’t disappoint. At the beginning of the race weekend we were brought with early drama with the race weekend nearly being cancelled due to a suspected missile attack that took place near the Jeddah circuit.
Despite many drivers not wanting the race to take place, and many discussions going on till roughly around 4am local time. They still decided to keep the race week on and later on that day Qualifying took place.
Pre-Race Issues
Embed from Getty ImagesBefore lights-out on Sunday we saw multiple drivers struggling with issues on their way to the grid, Yuki Tsunoda had a hydraulic issue with his car on the way which alternately meant he wasn’t able to participate in the race. Carlos Sainz also had a wiring issue with his car which saw him dive into the pits from the out-lap, but fortunately for him, Ferrari were able to fix the issue and get him to the grid.
Only 18 cars started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with Yuki not being able to race, but neither Mick Schumacher seeing as Haas decided it would be better for the team not to race following his horrific accident in Qualifying and just prepare for the next race in Australia.
As well as the cars that didn’t start, there were also some doubts before the race. Kevin Magnussen had reported that he had severe neck pains before the race and nearly didn’t take part. As well as Guanyu Zhou who had an unknown issue, at the beginning we saw the issue take place but as time went on it seemed to not affect the car too much.
Dismal Weekend For Latifi
Embed from Getty ImagesI think we can all agree that this is a weekend Latifi will want to forget in his Formula 1 career.
Over the course of this race week, Nicholas Latifi had two crashes. One taking place in Qualifying and one being on race day, both had ended up with him not being able to finish that current session and stumbling himself back to the pits.
The first accident that had occurred from him in Qualifying was a fortunate one, the car lost the rear at Turn 13 which saw him collide with one barrier before then crashing into the wall. Fortunately he was alright due to the car taking the majority of the impact before colliding into the second wall and he being completely fine, only the car being severely damaged.
The second crash occurred in the race where yet again, the back end was lost but this time in Turn 27. We saw the car smash into the side of the corner which then ended Latifi’s run on potentially finishing higher up on the grid and maybe even ending up finishing in the points.
Mercedes Make Up Ground
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the beginning of the Bahrain Testing, we all saw that the Mercedes most definitely didn’t have their dominance presence that they’ve had for the past couple seasons.
However, at the Saudi GP we saw that the Mercedes had managed to make up some ground on the field, in today’s race they managed to make some upgrades and clearly they have improved the car.
George Russell in the Merc had a very calm race today, with essentially cruising his way to P5 having a nice gap between the cars ahead and behind, and not really having anything to worry about over the course of the race.
Despite Lewis Hamilton having a dreadful qualifying, he still managed to finish P10 in the race today. Most likely he could’ve finished higher up the grid but due to an unfortunate timing of the Pit Lane being closed, meant that he wasn’t able to pit and could only recover to claim 1 point.
DRS Games
Embed from Getty ImagesMax Verstappen and Charles Leclerc shared a long battle during the race, and during the battle we saw the individual fight for DRS just before the start/finish straight.
At one point during the race and before Turn 27 we saw Verstappen and Leclerc both brake and have a double lock-up in-order to have DRS for the start finish straight, we also did see this during the Bahrain race before Turn 1, if you were able to let the opposition get through before the next DRS zone, you were able to re-overtake them on the upcoming straight.
The FIA potentially may have a look into this seeing as it could be a potential danger to other drivers near or close to them.
If drivers start to deliberately brake before the DRS zone to gain an advantage, it could be a hazard and maybe something that will cause a new rule to be implemented to prevent danger.
Red Bull vs Ferrari
Embed from Getty ImagesBefore the beginning of the season, we were all given a tip off that the title fight would be between Red Bull and Ferrari and sure were the predictions right.
From the two circuits so far this season, we have been blessed with wheel to wheel battles from around the grid, but for certain the most intense ones are between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Judging from the two races, i’m sure that for the coming season we will most definitely have a lot more wheel to wheel battles and close finishes between the two and undoubtedly a couple of future incidents between them.
The Red Bull car and the Ferrari car both have their own individual specialities and places that they are better in than each other.
Hopefully we see more close races just like we did in Saudi this week. What did you think about the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? Let us know down in the comments below!