Red Bull as favourites in Saudi Arabia: Perez to challenge Verstappen?

Saudi Arabia GP

The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was on the calendar for the first time in 2021. Back then, it was the penultimate race of the season and relations between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were once again strained in a direct duel. A few months later, the situation was very different. Again, Verstappen was fighting for victory, but it was Charles Leclerc he was battling with.

The GP delivers spectacular qualifying, but overtaking is a lot harder on the circuit in the streets of Jeddah. The circuit was designed by Carsten Tilke, indeed the son of F1 house architect Hermann. The fast section is unique to the circuit, although some drivers also call it very dangerous. This is because in the fast section, you have little visibility of what is happening in front of you.

Because it is a high-speed street circuit, the likelihood of crashes is high, so the safety car will most likely make its appearance. Consequently, in 2022, drivers only went in for one pit stop and did so during the safety car. Sergio Perez went one lap too early and lost his lead as a result.

Weather forecast

According to Weather.com the chance of rain throughout the weekend is zero per cent. The temperature, however, is a lot higher. Whereas in Bahrain the temperature was around 25 degrees over the weekend, it will be a maximum of 31 degrees in Jeddah next weekend. Since driving will take place later in the day, the temperature will have dropped somewhat by then.

The higher temperature will mainly be a good test for Pirelli's new tyres. The Italian tyre manufacturer is bringing C2 through C4 for the upcoming GP, and thus one softer set than in Bahrain. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit does have asphalt tyres than the Bahrain circuit.

Forecast for the Jeddah Grand Prix

The Formula 1 season is only just underway, but it is clear that Red Bull Racing will travel to Jeddah as favourites. The team achieved a 1-2 in Bahrain with playful ease with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with Verstappen even being admonished by his engineer to slow down. The gap to the competition was startling.

Fernando Alonso, on P3, was the man closest to the Red Bulls, but 38 seconds from the winner. Charles Leclerc drove a little closer to the Red Bulls before that on P3, but he crashed out and will face a 10-spot grid penalty for the race in Jeddah.

Ferrari is thus struggling with reliability issues and appeared to lack pace in the race as well. Aston Martin was closest to Red Bull in terms of race pace, but whether they can really make things difficult for Red Bull over an entire race weekend remains to be seen. Mercedes will come into Saudi Arabia with updates, but Toto Wolff 's team does not have much hope of better results.

It will be between Perez and Verstappen in Saudi Arabia. Verstappen is the favourite for many, but Perez has something to put right after his bad luck in 2022. Then Checo qualified on pole but lost the lead under the safety car. The Mexican always feels very good on street circuits, but Max rarely gives presents. Behind, it is likely to be between Spaniards Alonso and Sainz as to who takes the last spot on the podium.

The second Dutchman on the grid struggled on his debut for AlphaTauri. Nyck de Vries came no further than fourteenth place. Yuki Tsunoda was better than the Dutchman all weekend, but the Japanese also failed to score any points with the AT04. For De Vries, the first priority will be to close the gap with his teammate as soon as possible and also help his team to perform better. After all, points are not up for grabs right now.

Where to watch the Grand Prix?

In Jeddah, the race takes place in the evening local time. This makes the temperature just a little more tolerable for the tyres and also makes it easy to follow in Europe. The first and third free practice sessions start at 13:30 UK time, where the two free practice sessions, qualifying and the race start at 17:00 UK time. So watch the race with your plate on your lap this weekend.

Also in 2023, the entire race weekend can be watched with Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. With a subscription to F1TV, the race can also be watched with commentary of your choice in most countries around the world. You won't have to miss a thing at GPblog this weekend either. With liveblogs of each session, extensive summaries and reactions from everyone involved.

Timetable Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia 2023 [UK times]

Friday 17 March

First free practice: 13:30-14:30

Second free practice: 17:00-18:00

Saturday 18 March

Third free practice: 13:30-14:30

Qualifying: 17:00-18:00

Sunday 19 March

Race: 17:00-19:00