F1 | Data: Red Bull flies in the snake, Ferrari ok at medium speeds

Gusts of wind, walls a few centimeters away, many fast corners and the need to use curbs and a track with lots of grip that limits degradation. Jeddah presents itself as a completely different challenge to Sakhir, a track that imposes great stress on the rear axle with many restarts from low speeds and a mix of medium-speed corners.

Max Verstappen is not at the top of the timesheets but, exactly as in Bahrain, the Dutchman preaches calm, aware that, on the one hand, qualifying could realistically see a compact group, but also that certain rivals have already exploited mappings more aggressive. A topic that was proposed a week ago and, although he did not make specific references, it is clear that his thoughts go to the Mercedes-powered cars, which occupy the first two positions on Friday.

In front of everyone, in fact, is Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, who ended the day ahead of George Russell by about two tenths, followed by Verstappen's Red Bull. The first Ferrari, that of Charles Leclerc, is further behind, stopping in fourth place by just over three tenths: however, in interviews the Monegasque showed great confidence in view of qualifying, underlining how at the moment he would not hesitate to bet on a pole tinged with red. Let's find out what the data says about the first day of free practice in Saudi Arabia.

Red Bull imperfect on the lap, good on the pace

Despite the pole, in the first two days in Bahrain he had shown some signs of fatigue in the search for a single lap time, also suffering from gusts of wind which then disappeared on race day. There was no shortage of wind in Jeddah too, even if it didn't blow constantly, often changing direction, an aspect which for some teams had a negative impact, especially on the handling of the rear.

For Red Bull it wasn't a smooth first day and there are still aspects to improve, such as single lap performance. Verstappen did not hide the fact that, potentially, there could be more concrete and faster rivals in qualifying, while in terms of race pace the situation is reversed, because the RB20 still sets itself as an absolute reference. The Dutchman was the only one to lap with a certain consistency under one minute and 34 minutes, confirming himself as the most competitive with the medium tyre.

On the flying lap, however, there is still something to improve. The Dutchman said he was overall satisfied with the balance found, even if, in reality, for part of the day he had to fight against excessive bottoming in the fast corners, searching for the right balance between the maximum aerodynamic load and the useful limit to avoid the annoying bouncing phenomena that several pilots have complained about today arise. A problem then partially resolved in the second session thanks to targeted interventions.

Telemetry comparison Alonso – Verstappen Saudi Arabia FP2

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

The sections where he suffered the most were the slow corners, such as the first chicane and the final stretch of the track. Throughout the first day, Verstappen struggled to bring a lot of speed to the top, as if he highlighted a lack of grip: however, this is also due to his particular style, because the Red Bull driver is very aggressive at the entrance, cutting with a deceleration phase postponed compared to other rivals, and then attempted to close very close to the apex. It is no coincidence that Verstappen is the driver with the lowest minimum speed, even if in this case the objective is to try to make a difference in the first phase of the corner but without excessively sacrificing the exit towards the long final straight.

A very similar approach can also be seen in the first chicane, where he tries to bring more speed in the first part of the change of direction, only to then pay something in turn two, where once again he records lower parameters than his closest rivals. However, this tendency to focus strongly on the entry can also be appreciated in other sections of the track, such as in the change of direction 22-23, in which he brakes after the others, however bringing a slower speed than those who, on the contrary, anticipate braking to avoid understeer mid-corner.

If greater difficulty was noted in the slower corners, on the contrary, in the fast sections the RB20 seems to have inherited the strengths of the car that preceded it: an aspect that can be appreciated in particular in the sequence that goes from turn 6 to 10, where not only the total aerodynamic load matters, but also the consistency shown during travel. From this point of view, in the fastest sections the car from Milton Keynes still seemed to be a point of reference, at least on Thursday.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

A Ferrari yet to be discovered

Aston, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari: these are the top four teams on Friday, but there are still several doubts and curiosities surrounding the Cavallino team, starting with the choice of the rear wing on qualifying day. The Italian team opted for the most loaded option among those available in Saudi Arabia, but speaking to Sky, Team Principal Fred Vasseur hypothesized that the teams will align. It is possible that the engineers decide to switch to a more relaxed solution with the track having more rubber compared to the first day, but it would also be unusual, given that they would have only one free practice session available, moreover in conditions different from the rest of the weekend, before of qualifying on a track where confidence plays a key role.

A choice that Ferrari clearly pays off on the straights, especially on the starting one and on the stretch towards turn 13, while in the other two stretches the parameters are substantially in line with those of the Red Bull, but slightly more relaxed. A situation to keep an eye on, to understand how much margin the Cavallino still has on a motorsport level, an aspect to take into consideration especially in the race, where the DRS will not be there to compensate.

As was seen in Bahrain, also in Jeddah the Red car seems to express itself best in the medium and high speed sections rather than in the very slow corners, such as the first chicane, where there are some signs of difficulty in the rotation phase where it takes over. This aspect could be linked to the non-optimal preparation phase, a theme already seen in Sakhir, but also to that slight understeer in low-speed corners that Leclerc had spoken about on the eve of the world championship.

Telemetry comparison Alonso – Leclerc FP2 Saudi Arabia

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

The performance in the fast sequence of the first sector is undoubtedly positive, where it seems to be second only to Red Bull, which made traits like this one of the great strengths and key to the success of last season. This is especially noticeable in the last phase of the “snake”, the one exiting turn ten, where the RB20 showed something more on Thursday.

Speaking at the end of the day, Charles Leclerc said he was very confident in his chances in view of qualifying, underlining how, if he had to bet after free practice, he would aim for a Red pole. On this track, confidence is essential to extract the last hundredths: the Monegasque feels ready to fight for what eluded him a week ago.

A prominent position on the starting grid would also be vital from a race perspective: the Monegasque was one of the few to try the long run on the soft used for the flying lap simulations, with good references, but not in line with those of Max Verstappen. Only towards the end did Leclerc lower his times in an interesting way, demonstrating that there was still some margin, but clearly greater linearity was needed during the stint. In Jeddah the asphalt provides a lot of grip, limiting degradation, but in recent years the softer compound has never been the favorite to use in races, opting for harder solutions. It will be interesting to understand which direction Ferrari will go.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Aston and Mercedes between trail and aggressive mapping

If Red Bull and Ferrari are the big suspects for this start to the season, Fernando Alonso was on pace to set the best time on Thursday since the early afternoon session. The AMR24 seems to be a car capable of providing a little more satisfaction on a single lap than last season's car. Overall, the Spaniard said he was very satisfied with the progress of the first day, even if there were some elements that played in favor in the fast lap, such as a slipstream exploited on the starting straight, where in fact he arrives at the braking point of turn one with a small – but useful – advantage.

The real surprise, however, was seen in the fastest section, the rapid sequence of the first sector. In 2023 the AMR23 had shown signs of weakness in such rapid stretches, especially in the second half of the season, when it was no longer able to compensate for the weaknesses compared to its rivals. Alonso had explained in Bahrain how Aston Martin had sacrificed something in terms of slow pace to improve performance in the faster areas: some signs had already been seen in Bahrain, but Jeddah returns a more concrete image.

Clearly it is too early to give a definitive answer to the improvements of the AMR24, which however shows a little less than Red Bull and Ferrari, but it is interesting to note how the “green” has good acceleration when exiting the fast section, a sign of good balance , especially in the management of the rear, or more advanced mapping as seen in Bahrain. A final aspect that is interesting to mention is the fact that in the FP2 race simulation, not exactly exceptional, the technicians divided the work into two sections: one part in clean air, another purposely in traffic, in order to evaluate the behavior of the car even in slipstream.

In Mercedes they focused on a rather weak winger

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

While Aston Martin is looking forward to qualifying day with greater confidence, it was a two-sided Thursday for Mercedes. On the one hand Russell seemed more at ease, despite the difficulties in managing the car in high speed areas, also due to the lack of load of the W15 which had already been noticed in Sakhir, on the other Lewis Hamilton collided with a the rear end was definitely a dancer which led him to make mistakes quicker. It is interesting to point out that Russell did a double round of preparation, instead of a single round like other teams.

The Anglo-German team showed up in Jeddah with a very unloaded rear wing and, in fact, the data shows a particularly competitive car on the straights, perhaps also due to a slightly more aggressive mapping than other teams. This can be appreciated above all in the acceleration towards turn 13 and towards the last braking section, where a difference can be noticed not only in terms of top speed, but also in terms of progression.

However, the lack of aerodynamic load, which was partially seen already in Bahrain in the very fast changes of direction, also rears its head in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the first sector. Compared to Aston Martin, Ferrari and Red Bull, Mercedes is not able to bring the same speeds in the rapid sequence, with the drivers forced not only to fight with a more unstable car, but also to have to stall for longer while also playing with the brake.