The Jeddah street circuit is one of the most "feared" by drivers who are mentally and physically called upon to give their all. You have to find the point closest to the limit, touch it without going over it, because the slightest mistake here pays off. Especially if you have a single-seater that you don't know well yet and if the values are still rather uncertain. In short, the perfect mix for an unpredictable race, at least for the rearmost positions. Because once again there was in fact no possibility of attacking the unassailable Max Verstappen who achieved his second consecutive victory of the season in Jeddah. Let's see at the end of this second race weekend of the season, in Jeddah, who the top and flops at Fanta F1 are.
The Top 3 of the weekend in Jeddah
Max Verstappen: Max Verstappen closes this first back to back of the season with 2 wins out of 2. A first taste of the season that we could experience, or rather relive, in the wake of the 2023 one. Despite the Red Bull whether in full civil war between Horner, Marko and Jos Verstappen, the three-time world champion seems more focused and determined than ever in pursuing victory. After all, he doesn't do it for the team but for himself. As he has always been used to doing. He always tried to distance himself from distractions. Dad Jos himself was put aside when, at the beginning of his career at Red Bull, young Max was still too irascible. In the dimension in which he finds himself alone with his car Verstappen manages to give his best. Even in qualifying, a field in which he did not always excel. We put it in the top for this very reason. For finishing two weekends in a row without even a single mistake. Flawless. As Alonso also said “they play in another league”.
Oliver Bearman: a super debut for Bearman, called by F2 to urgently replace Carlos Sainz, operated on yesterday for appendicitis. His times in the first F1 race of his career came close to those of his teammate Charles Leclerc, frightening even opponents of the caliber of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. Ollie, despite his very young age, was ready. He proved to be constant and cool and this led him to recover positions until he finished comfortably in the points. Hands down the best considering the prohibitive conditions in Jeddah! AND the vote as best Sky pilot also confirms this.
Nico Hulkenberg: compared to his teammate he manages to enter the points zone, taking the last available place thanks also to a good team strategy. It's a recovery from last weekend's disaster.
Weekend flop in Jeddah
Pierre Gasly: poor Pierre's race ends before the first lap and not due to a contact but due to a gearbox problem suffered on the formation lap. We don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that his race ended immediately. Considering the car that the Alpine team gave him that's probably a good thing. It's his first official retirement of the season. A bitter record.
Lance Stroll: after yesterday's accident involving Guanyu Zhou, Stroll also falls into the trap in Jeddah, hitting his AMR24 against the wall after an initial contact with the front left. It's a shame because he could have risked a good position in the points.
Kevin Magnussen: when your racing number becomes an obsession. After trying to smash poor Albon into the wall he collects another 10 second penalty for a total of 20 second penalty which makes him one of the worst in Fanta F1.
