© Getty ImagesFree Practice - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021Making our debut on track in Jeddah for the practice sessions.
WelcometoJeddahandtheinauguralSaudiArabianGrandPrix.We’rehereattheJeddahCornicheCircuit,a30kmcoastalresortareathathasonlyjustbeenfinishedintoaracetrack.
The track was designed by the Tilke company, in conjunction with Formula 1’s own Motorsports team. You’ve probably already seen the reports that this is the fastest street circuit ever made, with average speeds expected to be 252kph, faster than Silverstone and second to Monza. And we’re expecting plenty of action-packed racing.
The circuit also features the most corners on the 2021 calendar with 27 in total on the 6.174km long track (only Spa is longer on the current calendar). The debut race will have 50 laps making a total race distance of 308.45km and, no surprises here, there’s no track record!
The Bulls Out On The Sunset Charge© Getty Images
The drivers got their first taste of the lightning-quick circuit on Friday afternoon (16:30 local time) and wanting to get as much track time as possible, the Bulls left their garages straight away on hard tyres.
Max, out on hard tyres, went top with first his flying lap with a time of 1:33.614 As the laps counted up Max’s time tumbled, and when he went into the pits his best time was 1:30.014. The Dutchman then came back out on soft tyres and was able to wipe even more time off his lap, making his best time a 1:30.014, which saw him P3 on the timesheet behind the Mercedes drivers.
After a quick return to the pits, Max came back out on track on the same soft tyres and was able to improve again, setting a best time of 1:29.842. That saw the Bull finish in P2, just 0.056s behind Hamilton, after a total of 23 laps.
Checo’s first stint of Free Practice One saw him set a fastest time of 1:32.737 in his first stint. After he swapped his hard tyres for softs, he was able to shave even more seconds off his time. He finished the session with a best time of 1:30.960 after 27 laps which saw him finish the session in P11.
Out On The Track At Jeddah© Getty Images
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Max Verstappen | Valtteri Bottas | Pierre Gasly | Antonio Giovinazzi | Carlos Sainz | Charles Leclerc | Daniel Ricciardo | Fernando Alonso | Sebastian Vettel | Sergio Pérez |
| Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | AlphaTauri | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | Ferrari | McLaren | Alpine | Aston Martin | Red Bull Racing Honda |
| 1.29.786 | 1.29.842 | 1.30.009 | 1.30.263 | 1.30.318 | 1.30.564 | 1.30.600 | 1.30.608 | 1.30.842 | 1.30.886 | 1.30.960 |
In the latter session of Friday, Free Practice Two, it was the first session under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and both Bulls hit the much cooler track straight away on medium tyres.
Max’s best time of 1:29.213 on the yellow-rimmed tyres saw him P3, again behind both Mercedes. After his first stint, he came out on a set of soft tyres, but was unable to improve on his time and after seven laps on the softs returned to the pits.
The Dutchman came back out with just under 15 minutes remaining on a set of used mediums to get some race simulation laps in. With less than five minutes remaining however, Charles Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari at turn 21 and went into the barriers, bringing out the red flags and ending the session early. At the end of the session, Max found himself in P4 after a total of 20 laps.
After his opening 10 laps on the mediums, Checo’s best time was 1:29.942 and saw him in P7. He returned to the pits and when he remerged, he was on a fresh set of soft tyres. The Mexican was able to shave his time down to 1:29.768 on the soft tyres. For his final stint in the session, Checo returned to the track on a set of used tyres to check his race pace. He didn’t improve on his time, but completed a total of 22 laps and finished in P9.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021: Free Practice
Checo Taking It To The Edge© Getty Images
Max Hitting The Apex In Jeddah© Getty Images
Sir Frank Williams Alongside Us© Getty Images
The Bulls Out At Night In Jeddah© Getty Images
Jeddah Ready For Race Weekend© Getty Images
Night Racing On A Street Circuit© Getty Images
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Valtteri Bottas | Pierre Gasly | Max Verstappen | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon | Carlos Sainz | Yuki Tsunoda | Sergio Pérez | Charles Leclerc |
| Mercedes | Mercedes | AlphaTauri | Red Bull Racing Honda | Alpine | Alpine | Ferrari | AlphaTauri | Red Bull Racing Honda | Ferrari |
| 1.29.018 | 1.29.079 | 1.29.099 | 1.29.213 | 1.29.441 | 1.29.555 | 1.29.589 | 1.29.597 | 1.29.768 | 1.29.772 |
Max Pleased With Cool Track In Jeddah© Getty Images
There are of course a lot of things to work on and improve so we'll see what we can do to get more pace out of the car overnight.
“Overall, it’s a really cool track, there are a lot of fast corners and it’s fun to drive. We struggled to get heat into the tyres in FP2, which we will of course look into. Then we made a few changes from FP1 to FP2 which didn’t quite work but hopefully we can find the right balance come qualifying tomorrow.
There are of course a lot of things to work on and improve so we’ll see what we can do to get more pace out of the car overnight. Looking ahead to qualifying, I think it might be quite difficult with the traffic but in general it’s hard to tell how Saturday is going to go as anything can happen but we’ll push hard and give it everything.”
Checo Enjoys Fast Jeddah Circuit© Getty Images
"It was a lot of fun out there today, it’s a really nice circuit, it is very fast and enjoyable to drive. It is going to be tricky in qualifying with traffic management, we saw that a bit when everyone was on the soft tyre at the end of FP2. I think it will be an interesting race because this track is challenging, if you make a mistake it can be extremely costly. In qualifying it will all be about trying to be in the right place at the right time.
On the long runs we didn’t have enough laps to get a real read on how we will perform so I don’t think my time on the soft tyres was reflective on where we actually are. I think there is plenty more to come from the car, so hopefully we can find the right balance and pace to be in contention in qualifying. It is going to be hard to achieve the perfect lap out there but we also have a long race ahead of us on Sunday and anything can happen. We just have to stay up there and be on it as much as possible.”
Saturday afternoon saw the last session before qualifying and the Bulls played it cool as they waited for the session to bed in. After 10 minutes the Team let Checo out on track on soft tyres, with Max following soon after, also sporting a set of red-rimmed tyres.
Both Bulls had a very successful session before tonight’s qualifying. Max finished the session top of the timesheet after a total of 20 laps with a best time of 1:28.100, 0.214s ahead of Lewis Hamilton who was second. Checo was just behind in Hamilton in P3 with a best time of 1:28.629, after a total of 21 laps.
Free Practice Three Top 10
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton | Sergio Pérez | Yuki Tsunoda | Pierre Gasly | Valtteri Bottas | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz | Esteban Ocon | Lando Norris |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | AlphaTauri | AlphaTauri | Mercedes | Ferrari | Ferrari | Alpine | McLaren |
| 1.28.100 | 1.28.314 | 1.28.629 | 1.28.641 | 1.28.715 | 1.29.019 | 1.29.101 | 1.29.149 | 1.29.177 | 1.29.300 |
