This week was the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but there were also some big headlines this week. Some staffing changes have been announced, as well as some changes regarding penalty points and the Saudi Arabian circuit. A new circuit has also been pitched to be the host of a future London Grand Prix.
Williams has recruited a former aerospace executive as their Chief Operating Officer. The news comes as the team undergoes significant restructuring efforts to improve their championship performance. Frederic Brousseau has worked for the famous jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney since 1997, working his way up to vice president of operations. Brousseau will join the team in April.
Andretti is believed to have signed an ex-Renault engineer to their team as they push to join Formula One in the new future. Nick Chester replaced James Allison as technical director at Renault/Lotus in 2013, remaining with the team until 2020. He has since been working in Formula E with Mercedes and then McLaren.
The Haas F1 Team released a statement defending their parent company from allegations that they broke sanctions against Russia. A story as broadcast by PBS in the United States claiming that Haas Automation had provided Russian-based companies with machines, which would be a violation of trade sanctions put in place last year. Haas insists the equipment was shipped prior to the trade sanction and that they have since terminated their agreements with the companies involved.
A plan has been pitched to upgrade the London Docklands area to potentially host a London Grand Prix in the future. The East London street circuit could consist of 22 corners, being touted as an event similar to the Canadian Grand Prix. A unique pitlane could run along the first-floor and loading deck of the ExCeL Centre, which hosted Formula E’s London E-Prix. The proposed event would be an additional race, not a replacement to the British Grand Prix.
The Austrian Grand Prix has signed a four-year contract extension to host a Formula One race. The deal will see the race remain at the Red Bull Ring until 2027.
The FIA will be taking a more lenient approach to their penalty points system. Drivers are allowed to accumulate 12 points in a 12-month period before receiving a one-race ban. The points expire 12 months after they are issued. This has caused concerns for some drivers, like Pierre Gasly who has collected 10 points for relatively small infractions. The FIA has agreed that the penalty points system is designed to prevent dangerous driving, but they will no longer be handing out penalty points for smaller infractions, such as track limits violations.
The FIA moved the third DRS detection point at the Jeddah Corniche street circuit ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was done to avoid the final corner antics witnessed in the previous years, in which drivers would brake on the straight to avoid giving the driver behind the benefit of DRS down the straight. The detection point was moved to after the final corner.
Charles Leclerc was forced to take a 10-place grid penalty for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for replacing power unit components. Ferrari replaced the power unit control electronics ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix after detecting an issue. Leclerc then suffered another failure with the component during the race, requiring the team to replace them with a new third set.
Max Verstappen was late to arrive in Saudi Arabia due to a stomach bug. The defending World Champion was given special permission by the FIA to miss his media commitments on Thursday, as an illness prevented him from flying. However, we arrived in time for the start of the first free practice session.
Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the weekend, leading Sergio Perez. The duo traded fastest laps for much of the first half of the session before Verstappen managed to set a time that couldn’t be beat. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were the next quickest and both within 1 second of Verstappen’s time.
The second free practice session on Friday evening was the first session under the lights and was more representative of the conditions the drivers will experience in qualifying and the race. Max Verstappen once again topped the time sheets in FP2, leading Alonso. Perez was also close behind ahead of Esteban Ocon and George Russell.
Max Verstappen completed his sweep of the practice sessions on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying. The defending World Champion was nearly a second quicker than the two Aston Martin drivers in P3 led by Alonso. Lewis Hamilton was fifth quickest. The times in the mid-field were very close, with only fractions of a second separating multiple sets of drivers.
Despite being out-performed by his teammate in all three practice sessions, Sergio Perez earned himself pole position. Verstappen led the Q1 session, while many drivers struggled with issues. Lando Norris clipped the barriers, damaging his steering. Rookie Logan Sargeant suffered a big spin after losing a lap time due to track limits. He failed to set a time in the session. The real drama happened in Q2 when Verstappen reported an engine issue and was forced to park in the garage. In his absence, Perez set the fastest time of the session. In Q3, Perez was able to secure pole position, ahead of Charles Leclerc who dropped down the grid with a penalty. Fernando Alonso was promoted to the front row of the grid, ahead of George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.
Red Bull earned another 1-2 finish with another dominant performance on Sunday. Fernando Alonso earned a penalty at the start for a starting grid violation, but took the lead of the race for a few laps at the start. A mid-race safety car for a mechanical failure on Lance Stroll’s car during the pit window helped some drivers. Alonso was able to serve the penalty he had earned while pitting under the safety car. Sergio Perez was on the top step of the podium with Max Verstappen in P2. Alonso stood on the podium for the 100th time in his career. After the race, he was demoted to P4 because the rear jack touched his car while serving the penalty during his pit stop. Aston Martin appealed the penalty and his podium was reinstated. Click here to read a full summary of the race.
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