The 2023 F1 season resumed with FP1 & 2 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. Fans are eagerly awaiting the response from Ferrari to the Red Bull domination. And the continuation of the Aston Martin surprise start that saw Fernando Alonso finish on the podium in the opener. Championship leader Max Verstappen, who missed Thursday’s commitments due to a stomach bug, was the center of attention. Charles Leclerc had a 10-place grid penalty due to taking his third set of control electronics for his Ferrari.
The Bulls Still on Top
Max Verstappen set the pace in both practice sessions, ending up as the fastest driver of the day. Verstappen’s fastest lap in FP2 was 1m29.603s. Fernando Alonso was second quickest, finishing 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen, followed by Sergio Perez in third, Esteban Ocon in fourth, and George Russell in fifth. Gasly was in sixth place, Stroll in seventh, Hulkenberg in eighth, and Leclerc and Sainz completed the top 10.
Ferrari Disasterplan
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. from Ferrari finished in the ninth and tenth positions, respectively. Leclerc had reported problems with his car and was struggling with his clutch pedal. Ferrari couldn’t detect any issue with the car from the data. This does not bode well for Leclerc, who already has a 10-place grid penalty for taking his third set of control electronics for his Ferrari. Ferrari had a tough season last year. And their luck doesn’t seem to be improving as they take a grid drop at race 2 of 23.
Alonso and Aston Martin’s Pace not a One-off
Fernando Alonso continued his impressive start to the season, finishing second in FP2, just behind Verstappen. The Spaniard picked up where he left of at Bahrain. And it is all the more impressive coming from a 41 year old in his first season at Aston Martin.
Russell and Mercedes Struggle
George Russell, who had a good start to the season in Bahrain, struggled in both practice sessions in Saudi Arabia. Russell’s best lap time was 1m30.771s and 1m30.070s, putting him in fifth place in FP1 and FP2. Lewis Hamilton struggled to get to grips with the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and some of its changes, finishing in 11th place in FP2, almost 1 seconds behind Verstappen’s time.
Looking to Qualifying
The first and second practice sessions for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were dominated by Max Verstappen, who topped the timesheets in both sessions. Fernando Alonso continued his impressive start to the season, finishing second in FP2, just behind Verstappen. Aston Martin is looking to continue its positive start to the season, and Red Bull is looking to maintain its dominant form from Bahrain. Ferrari had a tough session, with both drivers struggling to get up to speed, and Mercedes struggled as well, with both drivers struggling to get to grips with the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. So we can pray for a battle between Aston and Red Bull and hope Ferrari have turned their engine down to avoid damaging it.