Formula 1 returns to the track with the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. You fly to Jeddah, on a different route from that of Bahrain, ready, however, as always to give a great show. Based on the characteristics of the track, Pirelli selects the mixes to be used for that specific GP. Here are those selected for the second weekend of the season.
The tires on the track
It will be used at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix the C2 compound as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and C4 as P Zero Red soft.
Jeddah is the fastest street circuit of the season. The track was designed three years ago but has undergone continuous improvements since then. Ahead of this year's race, numerous retarders were added in the run-off areas and several curbs were rounded off. Some trackside walls have instead been repositioned, as happened in turns 8 and 10 to improve visibility on entry or in turn 23 to decrease the speed of the variant.
The set-up of the cars must be different from that studied for the first race of the year. Indeed, it is necessary in Saudi Arabia have good stability in the fast corners that characterize the circuit.
The grip of the Arab track is average but the sand carried by the wind could affect the grip on low abrasiveness asphalt. The street circuit, overlooking the Red Sea, is not demanding on traction and brakes and mainly exerts lateral forces on the tyres.
The Jeddah Grand Prix, like the previous one in Sakhir, will also take place at night but two hours after the start in Bahrain. The race, qualifying and FP2 will start at 20pm local time. Therefore, there is no high temperature difference between the start and the end of the session. The remaining free practice sessions are instead in the late afternoon when the asphalt temperature could vary by almost 10 degrees.
Pirelli, Isola: "We are confirming last year's compounds"
| To give an even clearer idea, is the director of the technical area Motorsport of Pirelli, Mario isola: “For the fast Jeddah circuit we confirmed last year's choice of compounds because they showed good consistency throughout the race weekend. In the two editions held so far, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has been quite unpredictable because red flags and neutralizations were frequent, being a typically city track. The single stop was the fastest option in 2022 when the anticipation of the pitstops, determined precisely by a safety car on the track, allowed most of the drivers to finish the race on the Hards. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, leading the group, engaged in a close battle also thanks to the grip of the tires and the chosen strategy, with the Red Bull driver prevailing over the Ferrari driver by less than a second, giving us an exciting Grand Prix. The teams will also have to work a lot on the set-up of the cars because they will only have free practice to perfect the balance with the new tyres. Traction and braking, predominant forces in Bahrain, give way to the lateral stresses of Gedda, a track with completely different characteristics from Sakhir". |
SOURCE: Pirelli F1 Media
