The pole position of the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP is still 2.5 seconds away. But hardly any driver in the field had the best Friday. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez bumped into slow cars on their fastest laps and the Ferrari drivers visibly struggled with cars jumping up and down the straights. Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc put his F1-75 on top of Friday practice twice. His FP2 time of 1:30.074 minutes corresponded to an average speed of 246.757 km/h.
The Ferrari magic ended after 40 minutes. Two wall contacts caused damage to the suspension of the cars. Max Verstappen’s counterattack on soft tires stopped at turn 22. At that point, the world champion was already two tenths behind Charles Leclerc and only two and a half tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Although the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the second longest track on the calendar, the cars were even closer together than in Bahrain. If we disregard Kevin Magnussen’s time due to his engine failure in the middle of practice, then only 1.792 seconds separated Charles Leclerc from Alexander Albon in 19th place. Ferrari and Red Bull seem to be fighting for victory again. Mercedes is two to three tenths closer than a week ago.
Also in Jeddah, bouncing was the topic at the briefing of the engineers and drivers. On Friday many drivers tried to accept it, but that won’t be possible on Sunday. Those who don’t find the magic car set-up overnight will have to sacrifice lap times before qualifying to give drivers more confidence in their cars.
Ferrari or Red Bull?
Red Bull failed on the fast lap, Ferrari on the long run. While Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez kept running into traffic on the soft tires, the Ferrari drivers touched the wall at the beginning of their race simulations. Charles Leclerc with the left front tire at Turn 4, Carlos Sainz with the right rear tire at Turn 13. That ended practice for the double winners from Bahrain. At a time when teams are still looking for answers to many questions about their new cars, a Friday without long run dates is a slap in the face.
As at the start of the season, the Red Bull made the better impression on Friday. The RB18 was much calmer on the road than the Ferrari F1-75 in the fast passages. But Ferrari was able to score in the few slow corners. “They look somehow more manoeuvrable,” reported Jenson Button during his track visit.
Red Bull continues to dominate the straights. In the top speed measurement shortly before the finish corner, Sergio Perez led the rankings at 333.1 km/h ahead of Max Verstappen at 328.2 km/h. Charles Leclerc followed in 8th place at 325.4 km/h. The Red Bulls are also the fastest cars in the field at the measuring point in the high-speed slalom between turns 21 and 22. Perez at 327.8 km/h ahead of Verstappen at 324.5 km/h. Charles Leclerc ranks fifth here at 321.3 km/h.
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But the croners belong to Ferrari again. Sector 1 is the most representative part of the route. Charles Leclerc led it with 32.876 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz with 33.020 seconds. Verstappen loses two and a half tenths to his conqueror from Bahrain in fourth with 33.136 seconds.
Can Mercedes intervene in the fight for victory?
The drivers again complained about heavy bouncing on the straights. Nevertheless, the gap to the top shrank to four to five tenths. After a morning comparison test, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell opted for the smaller of the two grand pianos on offer.
This helped Mercedes into the midfield at a top speed of 324.4 km/h and helped the cars to achieve a better balance. On the other hand, the Mercedes drivers only finished 13th and 14th in the first sector. They lost almost all of their time there. From turn 13, the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull remained stable.
Mercedes did not attach it to the wing, which visibly provided less downforce. “The drivers lack confidence in their car in the fast corners in the first sector because of the bouncing. That’s why they back off at the entrance to the corner,” said the team. GPS analysis revealed that Hamilton and Russell lost massive time on Ferrari and Red Bull at Turns 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and were 20km/h slower at the apex between 15.
In the long run, the Silver Arrows missed a little more lap time on Red Bull than on one lap. As a result of the bouncing, Hamilton and Russell were less comfortable than their opponents. Verstappen completed eleven laps on the medium tires with an average of 1:35.197 minutes. Perez was just two tenths behind. Hamilton was missing an average of seven tenths with 1:35.874 minutes. Russell’s long run time was even slower, but that was due to a 17-lap marathon.
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