Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: Things to Look Out for As Formula 1 Takes Over Jeddah’s Streets

• Formula 1 heads to the Jeddah Corniche circuit for round two of the 2024 season
• Several teams are looking to improve on their disappointing performance in Bahrain
• Sports Brief highlights a few things to note ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix

The 2024 Formula 1 season continues, with the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on the horizon.

Mercedes AMG aims to address their errors from Bahrain, while Ferrari hopes to replicate the race pace they showed in the opening round in Jeddah.

The echoes are quite different at Red Bull, as the Austrian team eyes their 25th race victory from the last 26 races they have participated in.

Several midtable teams, including Alpine and Aston Martin, are also looking to improve on their performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, making the race at the Jeddah Corniche circuit even more intriguing.

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In this light, Sports Brief takes a look at three things at the Saudi GP that are worth keeping an eye on.

Things to look out for at the Saudi GP

Alpines Race pace

The Enstone team swiftly responded to their disappointing performance at the Bahrain International Circuit by announcing the departures of their Chief Technical Officer, Matt Harman, and their Head of Aerodynamics, Dirk de Beer.

The French constructors finished 17th and 18th on the grid, matching their lacklustre record from the 2016 season opener in Australia.

So far at the Saudi GP, the team has shown promises through practice, with driver, Pierre Gasly, finishing 9th in Practice 2, seven-tenths of a second behind leader, Fernando Alonso.

While this appears to be a huge positive from their outing in Bahrain, it remains to be seen where Alpine finishes on race day.

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VCARB's pace and Team order

Another notable attraction that made the headlines during the Bahrain Grand Prix was the pace of the Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) team.

The Red Bull sister team, which had shown promise during pre-season testing, failed to live up to the hype at the opening race of the season. They could only muster 13th and 14th places, respectively. Further adding to their underwhelming outing, both drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, had a heated moment when the 'team order' game came into play.

The young Japanese driver was not willing to yield his track position to Ricciardo, and it eventually led to a few tense exchanges of words between the two.

Head of Red Bull’s driver program, Helmut Marko, has since done well to calm this rift. However, the Faenza-based team is surely one to watch this weekend.

Oliver Bearman in Ferrari

Ferrari has been making waves not just on the track but also off it. The Maranello team caused a stir in the world of motorsports with their announcement of signing Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, in early February.

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This move has shifted the spotlight to departing driver, Carlos Sainz, with many now acknowledging the Spaniard is driving for his career.

Despite an impressive podium finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the 29-year-old is now set to miss the Saudi GP due to appendicitis, requiring surgery, as confirmed by Sky Sports F1.

Following this development, Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman is poised to take Sainz's place. The 18-year-old, who became the second-youngest driver to win an F2 race after his victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, is prepared to step in for Sainz.

The Prema Racing driver has already had a taste of F1, participating in testing at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit in Mexico. Driving for the American team, Haas Racing, Bearman finished only 1.6 seconds behind leader, Max Verstappen. With his full F1 debut on the horizon, it remains to be seen how the Englishman will fare.

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Verstappen discusses joining Mercedes

Sports Brief in a previous report stated Dutch driver, Verstappen, has discussed joining Mercedes.

The three-time drivers' champion emphasised that he is currently content with the Austrian team, and it would require a significant breakdown in the relationship between both parties for him to consider driving for another constructor in 2025.