No time to recover from Bahrain, which is back on track with the second round of the season! We fly, and we return after last December's race, to Saudi Arabia. On the Jeddah track, it was interesting to understand the compounds selected by Pirelli for the weekend from 25 to 27 March. Let's talk about the three central compounds of the Pirelli range for the new 2022 season, to be precise:
Pirelli P Zero White Hard C2
Pirelli P Zero Yellow Medium C3
Pirelli P Zero Red Soft C4
The tires on the track
- Formula 1 returns to Saudi Arabia less than four months after its debut on this track. Pirelli has once again chosen the central compounds of the range: C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and C4 as P Zero Red soft. In this case, however, the cars and tires are completely new and, for the first time this year, the teams will have the C4 compound available for the race, given that the three harder compounds.
- This choice was made on the basis of the characteristics of the Jeddah track (both in terms of layout and asphalt), the expected temperatures and the data collected in the debut race in 2021. The recently laid asphalt offers a good level of grip ( with a score of 3/5 in the Pirelli ranking) and reasonably low levels of abrasion (a score of 2 out of 5 for Pirelli), which should lead to moderate wear and degradation. Loads and speeds are average, with an overall tire stress rating of three out of a five. Given the fast layout, the track is not particularly demanding in terms of traction and braking (2/5 in the Pirelli classification). A high degree of evolution is expected over the weekend, also thanks to the Formula 2 support races.
- The fastest street circuit on the Formula 1 calendar has changed slightly compared to last year's debut, following the modifications made necessary by some accidents that occurred on the track in 2021. The protective barriers have also been moved further back in order to improve visibility in some corners, while the last corner (27) has been widened by removing a grandstand, and this could further decrease the lap time. Turn 13 (out of the total of 27) still has a banking of 12 degrees and contributes to making the circuit very fast, second in speed only to that of Monza.
- The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is run over a distance of 50 laps, is the second consecutive night race on the calendar. This means that track temperatures can vary between sessions – as was also the case in Bahrain – with FP2 and qualifying more representative of race conditions.
Mario Isola: "Jedda completely different from Bahrain"
In view of the second appointment of the year, there was no shortage of words from the head of the Pirelli motorsport area, Mario Isola:
“Gedda represents a completely different challenge compared to the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain because the characteristics of the track, both in terms of layout and asphalt, are different. In addition, the riders will use softer compounds this weekend to cope with the specific demands of this track, which is almost as fast as Monza. The teams will arrive in Jeddah having never tested the new cars with the new tires at this circuit before, and conditions may be slightly different to their last visit to Saudi Arabia as the race now takes place at a different time of year and some changes have been made to the layout. The compounds named are the same as in 2021, but are totally new compared to last year. As a result, the teams will have a lot of work to do to collect as much data as possible during free practice, especially in FP2 which will be the most representative session since it takes place at the same time as qualifying and the race."
SOURCE: Pirelli F1 Media
