Woes for Verstappen, Perez Saves Red Bull's Face
Max Verstappen was looking titanic during the practice sessions for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, on Friday, and Saturday. He was bound to secure pole position, but unfortunately, a mechanical failure in his driveshaft forced him to retire during Q2. He will start the race in fifteenth place.
Verstappen is in a league of his own in terms of pace, it is like he is untouchable, godly, almost. We usually say that good drivers make their car feel like an extension of their own body, however, this time it felt like the other way around. Drivers are dependent on their cars, ergo, on all of their mechanical components.
Failing components are always a threat, and today Verstappen suffered from its unfortunate consequences. He will have to swim upstream and try to overtake 15 cars in order to get a win. His chances of a repeat are severely hindered, but anything can happen come Sunday.
McLaren’s bittersweet qualifying session.
During the first qualifying session, Lando Norris hit the wall of the hairpin before the main straight; he broke his left front suspension and his chances of a top 10 went down the drain. At that moment we did not know for sure if McLaren had the pace to aim high.
The rookie, Oscar Piastri finished the qualifying session in ninth place, showing everyone that McLaren is really progressing in terms of overall speed. Had not Norris retired due to a silly mistake, McLaren would have been able to put both of its cars on the top ten for tomorrow’s race, given the fact that Leclerc will start 12th for serving a penalty. Piastri will move up a place and start 8th tomorrow.
Aston Martin, close but no cigar
Verstappen’s retirement presented Alonso, and Aston Martin, a great chance for pole position, if he could match Perez’s pace on the third sector of the circuit. Despite his great pace, he only managed to finish third, but considering Leclerc’s penalty, he will start on the front row, just behind Perez.
Let’s see how the Aston Martin will perform during tomorrow’s race, and if they can match Perez’s race pace which is good. Both cars have a great chassis and can provide flexibility in terms of strategy. Perez is known for saving tires and stretching stints. Alonso will have to try a different approach, perhaps an undercut if he wants to get his first win of the season.
Lance Stroll finished on 6th, which is a fantastic result, given the fact that the Canadian driver had little time during testing and is still physically recovering from an unfortunate accident while biking. I hope to see his pace improve as the season progresses.
Mercedes’ mixed results
Russell finished in fourth place, but will move up a place due to Leclerc’s penalty. The top 3 drivers are: Perez, Alonso, and Russell. It is going to be a great race since there is an interesting drivers' mix at the top. Hopefully the Mercedes car can provide Russell and Hamilton with great race pace, so they can keep fighting at the top.
Hamilton is yet to find his pace on the Mercedes. Russell has outperformed Hamilton more times than he would like to accept. Let’s see how Mercedes deals with both drivers in terms of strategy, and if they prioritize Russell’s good chance at a podium finish.
Ferrari looked great, but will pay the price for its unreliability
Leclerc made a fantastic lap on Q3. He made a 1:28.420, just .155 behind Perez’s pole time. Too bad the Monegasque will pay the price for changing its third Control Electronics component with a 10-place grid penalty. He will start on the 12th spot of the grid.
Sainz on the other hand, finished in 5th but will move up a place because of his teammate’s penalty. The second row does not look bad at all for the Spaniard. It is going to be an interesting battle between Russell and Alonso for that last podium spot. Who knows, maybe that battle will end up benefiting drivers like Stoll, Ocon, or even Hamilton, who are on the prowl, waiting for a chance.
Driving to the limit
We saw a lot of spins during the first qualifying session. Drivers were pushing the cars to the limit and paid a relatively low price. Despite a few drivers going off the track, and spinning, no one hit the wall, except for Norris.
Most of these drivers were able to continue for the remainder of the session and made their competitive lap times. Unfortunately for Logan Sargeant, his lack of experience made him too eager to push for a fast lap without prepping the car first. He will start on last place, despite Norris early Q1 retirement. DeVries and Tsunoda also had their share of trouble around the circuit and did not even make it to Q2.
Alonso had an early spin, but managed to recover and made it through Q1. Another driver that was pushing to the limit was George Russell; he was riding the kerbs quite aggressively, and even fear he damaged the floor of his car. He radioed the team to check if he had broken something; fortunately for him, nothing broke.
Leclerc and Verstappen
Both drivers will start way behind the grid due to the reasons previously mentioned. It is going to be interesting to see how their races unveil. Verstappen for sure will overtake most of the cars in front of him and will end up behind Leclerc, eventually.
Leclerc also has a great car, but degradation is a recurring issue in Ferrari; let’s see if he can sustain race pace and make competitive lap times during his stints. Both drivers will be motivated to move up the grid as quickly as possible. Hopefully the teams provide them with a good strategy in order to mitigate the issue of starting among slower cars.
All set for tomorrow
Certainly, Verstappen’s driveshaft issue added its dose of spice to tomorrow’s race. Leclerc’s penalty also provides something alike. We will have 2 incredibly fast cars trying to overtake as many cars as possible.
Higher up the grid, Aston Martin can manage to get another podium finish, but Alonso is threatened by the likes of Russell, Sainz, and even his teammate, Stroll; don’t forget about Ocon, and Hamilton.
Let’s see how the race develops tomorrow. It is going to be an interesting one.
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