There second free practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix it ended again with Lewis Hamilton leading the standings. The British driver, who had already set the best time even at the end of PL1, reconfirmed the potential of Mercedes also at the last test on Friday, where, instead, Max Verstappen did not go beyond fourth place. The Dutchman, current world leader, did not have the opportunity to improve his performance in the final stages of the session, thanks to the display of the red flag for the accident that occurred at Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Even more disappointing, again with regard to PL2, the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with the Mexican only finishing ninth.
A day, the first ever on the circuit of Jeddah for the Circus, which the team principal of the Austrian team, Christian Horner, wanted to comment on the eve of Saturday’s qualifying, crucial to establish the starting grid and to further highlight the world championship challenge between Verstappen and Hamilton: “Qualifying will be crucial, such as those that take place on all road circuits – explained the British manager – even if everything can then happen in the race. It can be seen that it is a fairly tight and quite demanding circuit. Given the proximity to the walls and the high travel speed, it will be essential to know how to make the most of the tires, as well as finding the right setup that allows you to maintain sustained speeds at a short distance from the safety barriers. So, it will be a fascinating race. We have had great feedback on the hard tires, but we still have to get the most out of it as we move to a softer compound. In this sense, several analyzes will be conducted on the basis of the laps that we will complete. Moreover, listening to the general comments, I don’t think we are the only ones having to face this problem ”.
Turning to the analysis of the performance of its drivers, Horner first focused on the first feelings expressed by Verstappen on the new track, admitting a certain optimism despite the momentarily favorable result for Mercedes: “I talked to him after the session – he has declared – And he is having fun. Max just has to show what he’s made of: he worked incredibly hard, like the whole team, to get to this position with two races to go. Besides, this is the circuit suited to its characteristics: high speed, walls, curbs. Not surprisingly, he also recorded a faster time than anyone else “. More cautious, in every sense, the comment on the performance of Sergio Perez, still not completely at ease on the Jeddah track, as evidenced by the final ninth place in PL2: “Sergio is gradually gaining confidence with the track – He admitted – And he doesn’t want to take big risks right away“
In conclusion, Horner finally concentrated on the battle with Mercedes for the conquest of the drivers ‘and constructors’ titles, also feeling satisfied with the implementation of the load test on the rear wings introduced by the FIA: “I think we saw very similar speeds today, without major discrepancies – he stressed – it’s an encouraging figure, and we hope it will stay that way both this weekend and next. In Jeddah we are in a ranking situation for which we have fought, with 5 points to be recovered by the constructors and an 8 advantage in the drivers. In the last seven years we have experienced the dominance of Mercedes, and we are finally able to put pressure on them ”.
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