2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Jeddah, March 17 - 19

[etusch]

I think best realistic positiom for Max is 3d. Perez will be far away and Alonso will be away enough to save position. Race long push for max may bring some excitement by making us think that if he can catch Alo or not

[Sevach]

Congrats to Perez. Ferrari running the PU in tractor mode almost all sessions is quite intriguing. Good job by Piastri hope he gets a full race this weekend. Really interested in seeing Stroll's telemetry from the last lap. He was closely matching Perez then gave up 6 tenths in the final sector.

Maybe he used most of the battery power at first 2 sectors by pushing overtake button and left nothing to 3d sector. They have clear engine deficit compared to Redbull and Ferrari

Sector 1 is pure downforce, Aston Martin was the faster car there today, Lance set the fastest sector time, Alonso was second.
S2 is 60/40 straightline speed vs cornering, Perez is purple, Charles is second, Fernando splits the Ferraris, Lance is fifth.
S3 is skewed towards straightline speed, Perez first, the Ferraris are decent and Mercedes edge out Aston Martin.
Drivers Like Ocon and Hulk are competitive in S3 vs the Astons.

Aston was always going to lose in S3, even if we combine the best sectors from both drivers.

On to Ferrari, they did hide unprecedented amounts of engine performance throughout FP, watching them in practice it was like 2014 when you went from a Mercedes onboard to... everyone else, totally limp.
However, i feel this .1 gap to Red Bull is flattering them big time, they have lots of work to do.

Red Bull took out "all the wing" and are still competitive in S1 and match Ferrari through the corners, and that's without Max working his magic through a twisty sector on a low downforce setup.

And when i say Ferrari i mean Charles, because Carlos is totally hesitant to throw this thing around.

[GoranF1]

Mercedes is exactly where they were pre 2014....3rd-4th and struggling with tires.
This is not anomaly this is their normal position. They can't change car whitin budget cap.

[mendis]

On to Ferrari, they did hide unprecedented amounts of engine performance throughout FP, watching them in practice it was like 2014 when you went from a Mercedes onboard to... everyone else, totally limp.
However, i feel this .1 gap to Red Bull is flattering them big time, they have lots of work to do.

They did not hide the engine power on one lap in practices. They were clocking close to their ultimate quali top speed. They were slow because they were carrying loads of fuel to mask the performance. In long runs sims, they did hide the engine power.

[Shrieker]

This track is as dangerous as it was last year, and I'm scared something bad might happen.

I don't understand why they wouldn't build a purpose built track. They could even build a fantasy track if they wanted. One of only a handful of nations in the entire world rich enough to pull it off.

[mendis]

This track is as dangerous as it was last year, and I'm scared something bad might happen.

I don't understand why they wouldn't build a purpose built track. They could even build a fantasy track if they wanted. One of only a handful of nations in the entire world rich enough to pull it off.

You need to watch the video below to see actually how wide this circuit really is. The F1 camera's field of view is very strange and gives a feeling that, the track is too narrow and is dangerous.

For example, this is turn 1/2.

[Unc1eM0nty]

I think best realistic positiom for Max is 3d. Perez will be far away and Alonso will be away enough to save position. Race long push for max may bring some excitement by making us think that if he can catch Alo or not

Safety cars are a given on this track, at the very least it will close up the pack, some will luck in or out depending when they pit. Start medium and go longer anyone?

[search]

I think best realistic positiom for Max is 3d. Perez will be far away and Alonso will be away enough to save position. Race long push for max may bring some excitement by making us think that if he can catch Alo or not

Safety cars are a given on this track, at the very least it will close up the pack, some will luck in or out depending when they pit. Start medium and go longer anyone?

yeah, with the lack of degradation, the overcut (+potentially waiting for a SC for the only stop) looks like a good strategy to me as well when starting at the back

[CaribouBread]

Congrats to Perez. Ferrari running the PU in tractor mode almost all sessions is quite intriguing. Good job by Piastri hope he gets a full race this weekend. Really interested in seeing Stroll's telemetry from the last lap. He was closely matching Perez then gave up 6 tenths in the final sector.

Maybe he used most of the battery power at first 2 sectors by pushing overtake button and left nothing to 3d sector. They have clear engine deficit compared to Redbull and Ferrari

Yeah he is running out of juice in the end there (or he made a mistake that didn't let him put the power down, looks to be a bit of both). Could've been closer but not by much.

[Artur Craft]

Were we watching the same thing today?
Alonso beat Stroll in all Qualifying sessions. His absolute best S2 & S3 times were superior to Stroll's, even though Stroll indeed gained on him in S1. Better tyre warm-up could've contributed to that (it was Stroll's second flying lap on that set, while Nando only had one on both sets).

So, you´re trying to make a 2nd lap on used tyres as an advantadge over a lap on fresh ones?

Stroll was the only guy near enough, after S2, to threaten Perez´s pole. For a moment, everybody thought that Stroll could have gotten pole. At no point it seemed Alonso could have snatched pole away from Perez. Fernando was lucky that Stroll´s S3 wasn´t good(probably his tyres were dead by then), otherwise it would have been even more embarassing for him (his body language and facial expressions were pretty blatant on the end of QLF).

Ofcourse Stroll is not in the same league. And that's why Arthur says Alonso was underwhelming yesterday. Could have gotten more out of the car if you see what Stroll did.

I admire Alonso, as a driver, that´s why I have a more demanding view. But some fans will always come up with any argument they can in order to "protect" their favourite driver. Has always been like that and it will always be. It´s sad but it is what it is.

[Juzh]

in a "normal" race:

If perez stays ahead after T1 then verstappen P1 @ lap 40-45
If alonso jumps perez, then verstappen P1 @ lap 30

No one will be able to defend against verstappen for more than a lap, leclerc maybe 2 or 3 laps.

[organic]

in a "normal" race:

If perez stays ahead after T1 then verstappen P1 @ lap 40-45
If alonso jumps perez, then verstappen P1 @ lap 30

No one will be able to defend against verstappen for more than a lap, leclerc maybe 2 or 3 laps.

Most likely yes. The RB advantage on the straights is such that a couple of DRS zones will be enough for him to overtake. Throw in the fact that nobody seeing him in the mirrors will bother to defend that hard

Perez lacks fresh softs for the first stint whereas max obviously has them which also helps.

Not sure what strategies they will go for with each car though. Usually when max is in the pack at the start they bolt soft tyres on however

[SirBastianVettel]

in a "normal" race:

If perez stays ahead after T1 then verstappen P1 @ lap 40-45
If alonso jumps perez, then verstappen P1 @ lap 30

No one will be able to defend against verstappen for more than a lap, leclerc maybe 2 or 3 laps.

If Verstappen beats Perez in the first scenario (without any safety cars) he should frankly lose his seat immediately.

[organic]

in a "normal" race:

If perez stays ahead after T1 then verstappen P1 @ lap 40-45
If alonso jumps perez, then verstappen P1 @ lap 30

No one will be able to defend against verstappen for more than a lap, leclerc maybe 2 or 3 laps.

If Verstappen beats Perez in the first scenario (without any safety cars) he should frankly lose his seat immediately.

Didn't it already happen at Spa comfortably?

[search]

here is some analysis which sees Verstappen end up on top, based on long run pace on Friday



Personally I don't think their base data is correct, though. Leclerc for example ran into traffic at the end of FP2, which they seem to factor in as tyre drop.