The second race of the 2023 Formula 1 season is here, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the circuit in Saudi Arabia. Twenty drivers navigate the twists and turns of the world’s fastest street he circuit, with average driver speeds reaching around 155 mph. There are twists and turns ahead of speed and Jeddah his Corniche his circuit puts 27 grueling turns in front of the drivers, including difficult turns 22 and 23.
Speaking of twists and turns, this week offered its share. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start his 12th place on Sunday, despite posting his second fastest qualifying time on Saturday. This is thanks to the team changing the controls to his third set of electronics for the second race of the season.
Joining Leclerc in the middle of the field? Max Verstappen. Defending Worlds his champion was strong through three practices and the first qualifying session, but a driveshaft failure in Q2 forced him to retire the RB19 in the second session, leaving him 15th on Sunday. It was decided to start.
Here’s the full qualifying order and what to watch out for during the Saudi Grand Prix. You can bet on the races at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Saudi Grand Prix
| place | driver | team | place | driver | team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| place | driver | team | place | driver | team |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | red bull | 2 | Fernando Alonso | aston martin |
| 3 | George Russell | mercedes | Four | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari |
| Five | Lance Stroll | aston martin | 6 | Esteban Ocon | alpine |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | mercedes | 8 | Oscar Piastri | mclaren |
| 9 | Pierre Guthrie | alpine | Ten | Nico Hulkenberg | Hearth |
| 11 | Zhou Guan Yu | alfa romeo | 12 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 13 | Kevin Magnesen | Hearth | 14 | Valtteri Bottas | alfa romeo |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | red bull | 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | Alpha Tauri |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | 18 | Nick de Vries | Alpha Tauri |
| 19 | Land Norris | mclaren | 20 | Logan Sargent | Williams |
Things to watch out for at the Saudi Grand Prix
Can Aston Martin stay strong?
Perhaps the biggest story of the Bahrain Grand Prix was Aston Martin’s performance. Lance Stroll, who broke both wrists in a training accident, finished sixth, while team-mate Fernando Alonso took his first podium since 2021 and finished third.
After Saturday’s qualifying session, the two Aston Martin drivers will be able to build on that success. Stroll was fifth on the grid with Alonso on the grid at Leclerc.Front row since Michael Schumacher start second 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.
After qualifying, Alonso spoke of a possible victory in Jeddah. The veteran his driver downplayed his chances of winning, but Aston he pointed out that Martin had had a very good day. “I don’t want to be pessimistic, but if you look at the pace of the whole weekend in free practice, you can see the race in Bahrain. You have to be honest with yourself and Red Bull are a little bit ahead of everyone. I need to know that there is Alonso said after qualifying“I mean, tomorrow’s goal is not to fight for a win against the Czech Republic. But like I said before, F1 is not exact math. Anything can happen. Today, our No one places a Verstappen P15, but these things happen from time to time, so the most important thing for us is to score points, and we have both cars starting in the top five. Our aim is to finish in the top five with both cars and continue scoring points for the Constructors’ Championship, which is Aston Martin’s main objective this year.”
It’s possible that Aston Martin will have a big day, but now we have to see if it comes to pass.
Can Sergio Perez break through in Jeddah?
Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez took pole position for the second year in a row.
Is this the year he broke out in Jeddah?
Perez qualified for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021 in fifth place, but a collision on lap 14 forced him to retire early. Perez took pole position at last season’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but the safety car mistimed shortly after Perez made a pit stop, forcing Verstappen, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. to restart in front of him. became.
Perez eventually finished fourth.
On Saturday after qualifying, Perez spoke trackside about his qualifying success in Jeddah and his chances on Sunday. “It was tricky, especially in Q3. [after] I didn’t get that second lap,” Perez said in an interview just after qualifying. “or [first lap] It was very clean, really clean. Hit that lap and you’ll see Formula 1 cars come to life here. Maximizing that lap was very important. improve. ”
Perez has shown his ability to score some fast laps in Jeddah. Let’s see if he can pull together enough to finish first on Sunday.
Is Sunday the day Alpine makes its own sound?
Alpine seemed to have something in store for the field during practice on Friday.
They showed it on Saturday.
Both Alpine drivers will start inside the top ten, with Esteban Ocon in sixth and Pierre Gasly in ninth.team is full of confidence In the wake of that performance, Gasly showed that the team has twice the points on the table. I am confident that it is.”
Can Verstappen, Leclerc or both work their magic from midfield?
Up until the second qualifying session, Verstappen was the strongest driver in the field. However, a driveshaft problem his RB19 suffered will see him out of line with the defending world champions on Sunday in 15th place.
Leclerc set the second fastest time in Q3, but a grid penalty meant the Ferrari driver finished 12th.
Can one or both drivers work their magic from midfield in Jeddah? There is precedent for this.Lewis Hamilton last season started Although he was 15th, he finished 10th and occupied 5 spots during the race. Aston Martin’s Nico Hulkenberg also moved up five places to finish 12th after starting 17th.
there was move more At the 2021 Saudi Grand Prix. Both Stroll and Sainz Jr. took his seven spots during the race. Stroll started 18th and finished 11th, while Sainz started 15th and finished 8th.
So there is hope for both drivers that they can accomplish something on Sunday.Leclerc addressed in him Comments after qualifying The possibility that he will occupy some position in the Grand Prix. “I think the race pace is stronger this weekend, which is good. The midfield all look very close in terms of race pace, so how good is it to overtake at this track? I don’t know if it’s easy,” Leclerc said. “And with the DRS train, things are going to be very difficult.
Will there be a revival of Mercedes?
Earlier this week, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the team was bringing some “small developments” to Jeddah. Wolff warned “they won’t be game changers” but on Sunday both Mercedes drivers start inside the top ten with Lewis Hamilton in seventh and George Russell in third. right.
When Russell came across the line at the end of the third qualifying session, he seemed pretty happy with the W14’s performance.
Does this indicate better days are ahead for Silver Arrow?
We’ll know for sure in a few hours.
