As expected, the Saudi Arabian GP didn’t bring too many exciting moments. Perhaps the most significant moment of the race came at the start with Piastri’s attempted overtake and Verstappen’s decision to run wide to avoid losing too much time and to prevent contact. This choice was penalized by the FIA with a 5-second penalty for Max, which in turn cleared the way for Oscar to take the win.
The audience’s heart rates remained fairly stable for the rest of the race. There was a slight tremor between laps 12 and 15 when Norris and Hamilton engaged in a close battle, frequently swapping positions between them. Lando took a bit of time, but once he figured out how to maximize the MCL39’s straight-line performance, he overtook Lewis on lap 16, moving into P6 and setting his sights on Antonelli.
If we compare the classification on lap 16 to the final standings, the only changes were Leclerc in third place ahead of Norris, with the two Mercedes in fifth and sixth. How they achieved this will be covered later, as it’s perhaps the only thing that deserves some attention today. It’s not the only noteworthy point, but it’s close.
First, the Usual Recap
In the end, the Soft tire was completely disregarded. Pirelli had thought that someone might start on it, and I, myself, expected it to be used at the end (as we mentioned in the ‘possible strategies’), but no one considered it. What we did share with Pirelli was the idea that someone might use it to push the pace during some critical moments of the race. Essentially, the Soft tire didn’t convince in race conditions, likely because the performance gap between the three compounds wasn’t significant enough. This was demonstrated by Leclerc’s final stint on Hard tires and Norris’s on Mediums. Lando was indeed faster than the Ferrari driver, but only by a few tenths, and despite pushing hard, Charles was able to keep pace without any issues.
In total, only three strategies were used in Jeddah, with differences mainly in the timing of pit stops, with some opting for an overcut instead of an undercut. The most popular strategy was undoubtedly Medium-Hard, chosen by Piastri, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Hamilton, Sainz, Albon, Alonso, Lawson, Bearman, Ocon, and Bortoleto.
Hard-Medium was used by Norris, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Stroll, while Medium-Hard-Hard was the strategy for Doohan. Tsunoda and Gasly retired after the first lap due to a collision caused by the Japanese driver, which was deemed a racing incident by the FIA.
The Strategies of Ocon, Doohan, and Bortoleto
Notable strategies came from Esteban Ocon, Jack Doohan, and Gabriel Bortoleto. All three started on Medium tires, and shortly after the lights went out, the Safety Car was deployed due to the Tsunoda-Gasly incident. Ocon, in 17th, Doohan in 19th, and Bortoleto in 20th, immediately pitted to switch to Hard tires. Of the three, Ocon managed the Hard C3 tires the best, finishing P14, behind his teammate, after completing 49 laps on them. He also managed to avoid being lapped.
Bortoleto, following the same strategy as Ocon, wasn’t as effective. He was in 15th place on lap 41, 6 seconds behind Ocon. However, Gabriel couldn’t manage the tire as well and suffered a significant performance drop in the final 10 laps, finishing in last place, even behind Doohan, who switched to a two-stop strategy. Jack, unlike the others, realized he wouldn’t remain competitive with only one set of Hard tires and, with 17 laps to go, decided to pit again for another set of Hard tires. This choice paid off, allowing him to finish ahead of Bortoleto, 13.7 seconds behind Stroll.
Leclerc Shines, Norris Never Threatens Him
Charles Leclerc delivered an absolutely brilliant performance in Jeddah. The podium was entirely down to him. He expertly managed the Medium tire, the best of all, and maintained a strong pace on the Hard tires, holding off a determined Norris during a brief stint on Mediums towards the end.
Leclerc gained only one position on Russell, but it was still a high-level performance. Pirelli had stated the low degradation would be a factor to consider and that the undercut might not be very effective, which turned out to be true. Russell decided to pit, almost as planned, around lap 21, one lap after Antonelli. Leclerc, however, wasn’t concerned with what the others were doing and stuck to his strategy, consistently posting very competitive lap times, almost always under 1:34. Norris did close the gap slightly thanks to his Hard tires, but never enough to threaten him.
Leclerc pitted for Hard tires on lap 29 and rejoined just 3.7 seconds behind Russell, now benefiting from fresher tires. He quickly closed the gap and passed Russell on lap 38. Norris, meanwhile, pitted for new Mediums on lap 35 and returned to the track 5.2 seconds behind Leclerc.
Norris was consistently faster than the Monegasque, but the gap was only between 1 to 4 tenths per lap. This allowed Lando to overtake Russell, but he never came close to putting Leclerc under pressure. Charles finished third, 5 seconds behind Verstappen and 1 second ahead of Norris. Perhaps Norris could have tried the Softs at the end to be more aggressive, but in reality, no one knew the true potential of the C5 in the race, as no one had done significant stints on it during Friday’s practice. Going for the Mediums was the right choice, and Leclerc was simply fantastic. It’s a shame that his performance only earned him a third-place finish. It was Ferrari’s first podium of the season.
Piastri and Verstappen’s Decisions
Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen’s strategies were mainly influenced by Max’s 5-second penalty, so we decided not to go into too much detail. Mercedes stuck to a fairly standard strategy, while Hamilton, despite trying to follow Leclerc’s lead, had to accept that he just didn’t have the pace in Jeddah. Now there will be a week and a half before heading to Miami. Ferrari needs to investigate why only one driver is currently able to deliver high-level performances, while the other has struggled through a triple-header, including what we saw in the first two races of the season.
Leave a Reply