Round 2 of the 2023 Formula One season takes place in Saudi Arabia this weekend on the Jeddah Corniche circuit. Here are all the stories to look out for.
Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Group Media
After a two-week trip across the Arabian desert, Formula One is paying Jeddah a visit in Saudi Arabia. This weekend is the Saudi Arabia F1 Grand Prix as the championship moves on to Round 2 of the season.
Compared to Bahrain, the Jeddah Corniche street circuit is a totally different beast. The fast-flowing nature of this high-speed venue is sure to produce a different pecking order to Bahrain. In fact, the tyre-shredding stop-start layout of Bahrain couldn't be further from the upcoming circuit if it tried.
The opening round of the season at Bahrain saw pre-season testing concerns become a reality as Red Bull proved this year will be a fight for second place. Elsewhere, a fantastic battle for the final step on the podium raged on throughout the race between Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Further down, an equally fraught competition for the lower point-scoring positions saw Alex Albon claim a point for Williams and Pierre Gasly climb from the back of the grid to the top-ten. The biggest surprise of the weekend was certainly the McLarens which suffered from major reliability issues all while showing little to no pace. It will be a difficult second race for them.
As mentioned above, McLaren had a torrid event in Bahrain. Not only were they off the pace, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fell to reliability issues early on. Although the more experienced Brit continued to the chequered flag, he was forced to stop regularly to top up on pneumatic fluid. Meanwhile, a total electronic systems malfunction rendered Piastri's car immobile. The Papaya squad will be hoping they can show what they have in the second round, though with upgrades not expected before Baku, it will be a tricky first quarter of the season.
The biggest heartbreak in Bahrain was when Charles Leclerc once again came to a halt in his Ferrari F1 car. An engine issue forced his retirement from the race. But it gets worse. The Monegasque already has a 10-place grid penalty for using too many ECU parts this season. On the Sunday in Bahrain alone, the Ferrari squad used up their two allowed ECU components meaning every new parts from now will incur a grid drop. This early on in the season, Ferrari will be worried that this is a recurring issue. It will be interesting to see if either driver has the same problem in Jeddah this weekend.
Aside from the Aston-Mercedes-Ferrari battle, the best on-track action was as ever provided by the midfield. From eighth down, drivers sat in a line fighting for the final points paying positions. We saw in qualifying for Race 1 that the entire field was close, which makes predicting a line-up impossible. It will be an important aspect of the early stages of the weekend to work out which teams are likely to score points this time out as the field shuffles once more.
With practice getting away on Friday, fans can tune in as the work week comes to an end. Practice 1 starts at 14:30 CET whilst FP2 gets going at 6pm CET. Saturday's FP3 and Qualifying track action also gets underway at 14:30 and 18:00 respectively. You can watch the race from 6pm on Sunday CET as we find out if Red Bull really is the team to beat in 2023.
Will you be watching the 2023 Formula One Saudi Arabia Grand Prix?
Image Credit: Mercedes Benz Group Media
After a two-week trip across the Arabian desert, Formula One is paying Jeddah a visit in Saudi Arabia. This weekend is the Saudi Arabia F1 Grand Prix as the championship moves on to Round 2 of the season.
Compared to Bahrain, the Jeddah Corniche street circuit is a totally different beast. The fast-flowing nature of this high-speed venue is sure to produce a different pecking order to Bahrain. In fact, the tyre-shredding stop-start layout of Bahrain couldn't be further from the upcoming circuit if it tried.
The opening round of the season at Bahrain saw pre-season testing concerns become a reality as Red Bull proved this year will be a fight for second place. Elsewhere, a fantastic battle for the final step on the podium raged on throughout the race between Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Further down, an equally fraught competition for the lower point-scoring positions saw Alex Albon claim a point for Williams and Pierre Gasly climb from the back of the grid to the top-ten. The biggest surprise of the weekend was certainly the McLarens which suffered from major reliability issues all while showing little to no pace. It will be a difficult second race for them.
Top stories in F1 Jeddah
Whilst Aston Martin showed they could keep up with the top teams in Bahrain, Jeddah is a different kettle of fish. Whether or not the AMR-23 can maintain its pace on the much faster street circuit is an important aspect of this week's event. This track will be a good representation of many circuits on the 2023 calendar, so if the team in green can compete this weekend, we'll know they're in for a season-long fight.As mentioned above, McLaren had a torrid event in Bahrain. Not only were they off the pace, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fell to reliability issues early on. Although the more experienced Brit continued to the chequered flag, he was forced to stop regularly to top up on pneumatic fluid. Meanwhile, a total electronic systems malfunction rendered Piastri's car immobile. The Papaya squad will be hoping they can show what they have in the second round, though with upgrades not expected before Baku, it will be a tricky first quarter of the season.
The biggest heartbreak in Bahrain was when Charles Leclerc once again came to a halt in his Ferrari F1 car. An engine issue forced his retirement from the race. But it gets worse. The Monegasque already has a 10-place grid penalty for using too many ECU parts this season. On the Sunday in Bahrain alone, the Ferrari squad used up their two allowed ECU components meaning every new parts from now will incur a grid drop. This early on in the season, Ferrari will be worried that this is a recurring issue. It will be interesting to see if either driver has the same problem in Jeddah this weekend.
Aside from the Aston-Mercedes-Ferrari battle, the best on-track action was as ever provided by the midfield. From eighth down, drivers sat in a line fighting for the final points paying positions. We saw in qualifying for Race 1 that the entire field was close, which makes predicting a line-up impossible. It will be an important aspect of the early stages of the weekend to work out which teams are likely to score points this time out as the field shuffles once more.
Watch the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
As ever, Formula One race streams are available as part of the official F1 TV subscription while many channels around the world will show race coverage.With practice getting away on Friday, fans can tune in as the work week comes to an end. Practice 1 starts at 14:30 CET whilst FP2 gets going at 6pm CET. Saturday's FP3 and Qualifying track action also gets underway at 14:30 and 18:00 respectively. You can watch the race from 6pm on Sunday CET as we find out if Red Bull really is the team to beat in 2023.
Will you be watching the 2023 Formula One Saudi Arabia Grand Prix?
