2023 Formula One Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix feature image.jpg

Who are you supporting in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?

  • Max Verstappen

    Votes: 121 27.1%
  • Sergio Perez

    Votes: 47 10.5%
  • Charles Leclerc

    Votes: 81 18.2%
  • Carlos Sainz

    Votes: 26 5.8%
  • Lewis Hamilton

    Votes: 65 14.6%
  • George Russell

    Votes: 25 5.6%
  • Fernando Alonso

    Votes: 219 49.1%
  • Lance Stroll

    Votes: 9 2.0%
  • Esteban Ocon

    Votes: 12 2.7%
  • Pierre Gasly

    Votes: 20 4.5%
  • Lando Norris

    Votes: 25 5.6%
  • Oscar Piastri

    Votes: 12 2.7%
  • Nico Hulkenberg

    Votes: 21 4.7%
  • Kevin Magnussen

    Votes: 18 4.0%
  • Valterri Bottas

    Votes: 15 3.4%
  • Zhou Guanyu

    Votes: 6 1.3%
  • Yuki Tsunoda

    Votes: 11 2.5%
  • Nyck De Vries

    Votes: 19 4.3%
  • Alex Albon

    Votes: 8 1.8%
  • Logan Sargeant

    Votes: 20 4.5%

  • Total voters
    446
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.

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.

Timetable information for the 2023 Formula One Saudi Arabia Grand Prix


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?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

Premium
It would be nice if the pace of the Red Bull is as far ahead of the opposition as many of us think it may be!* I know that many Lewis fans are gonna be peeved (once again) and the Ferrari fans are understanding that their car might be a be a heartache for them this year, both cars are apparently gonna take a grid drop for reliability reasons... but Red Bull didn't fair too well last year in the first three races and look what happened, Hulk seems to match KMag in the first session, and Stroll is getting his wrist and toe dialed in to that second Aston Martin... looking good!

* because their development allowance is gonna suffer in the second half of the season.
 
Watched FP1 of the 3rd annual Jamal Khashoggi Memorial Grand Prix. Red Bull on top, as usual. I wonder how Marko and Horner will manage to be sore winners once again this weekend. But Aston Martin is in 2nd, which is great.
Well it took them 8 years to get back to the top, it takes time and a lot, energy and money.. a lot of money or did you think it went smoothly for Redbull?
 
Premium
Oh no Kevin.
Why didnt they keep Schumacher?:(

View attachment 647927

I don't think that Nico is taking KMag to the cleaners it's just circumstances, we'll get a truer picture in a couple of races when things are 'known'
I think overall that HAAS made the tight decision on signing Hulk, he's had a few laps in the car now and not put it in the wall once... yet,
Mick's a nice bloke but I think he needs a bit of time to settle his direction, he ain't Michael, but he's also no slouch, and just think if Georgie boy or (getinthere) Lewis hit misfortune then he's got a go in a Merc.
 
Mick's a nice bloke but I think he needs a bit of time to settle his direction, he ain't Michael, but he's also no slouch, and just think if Georgie boy or (getinthere) Lewis hit misfortune then he's got a go in a Merc.
I think Merc can sign a more promising driver. If McLaren keeps floundering in the middle of the grid, Mercedes could be a nice spot for Lando Norris.
 
I heard but I don't believe it. I think that Hamilton will end his career at Mercedes. And if I was Mercedes, I'd go for Norris over Leclerc without hesitation.
Leclerc is beating the guy who beat Norris the two seasons he was his teamie. It's not as clear cut as it seems.
 

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