2024_Saudi_Arabian_Grand_Prix

2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Second round of the 2024 F1 season


The 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on 9 March 2024 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The race was the second round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

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Max Verstappen won the race from pole position, taking his 100th podium, his ninth victory in a row, and his second victory of the season. This race saw the Grand Prix debut of Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman, who substituted for Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari. Bearman finished in seventh place scoring his first points in Formula One.

Background

The event was held across 7–9 March. It was the second round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the fourth running of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.[2]

The Grand Prix was scheduled for a Saturday to accommodate Ramadan, which began on 10 March.[3]

Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 26 points, 8 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez in second, and 11 from Carlos Sainz Jr. in third. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship over Ferrari by 17 points, and Mercedes by 28 points.[4]

Entrants

Debutant Oliver Bearman (left) stood in for Carlos Sainz Jr. (right) at Ferrari.

The drivers and teams were initially the same as the season entry list.[5] However, Ferrari reserve and Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz Jr. starting from the third free practice session, after Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and withdrew from the event to undergo surgery.[6] Bearman made his Formula One debut.[7]

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[8]

Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 7 March 2024, at 16:30 local time (UTC+3), and was topped by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ahead of Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez.[9][5] The second free practice session was held on the same day and was scheduled at 20:00 local time, but was delayed by ten minutes as bolts were checked on drain covers in the pit lane.[10] The session was topped by Alonso ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and Verstappen.[11] The third free practice session was held on 8 March 2024, at 16:30 local time, and was topped by Verstappen ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Verstappen's teammate Pérez. The session was red-flagged after Sauber's Zhou Guanyu lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers, but was resumed after necessary repairs to the barriers were carried out.[12]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 8 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3).[1]

Qualifying classification

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Notes

  • ^1 Zhou Guanyu failed to set a time during qualifying. He was permitted to race at the stewards' discretion.[14]

Race

The race was held on 9 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 50 laps.[1]

Race report

At the starting grid, Norris appeared to jump the start but the stewards did not issue any penalty as the FIA's standardised grid box transponder did not detect an infringement. The sporting regulations require these transponders to detect an infringement for a penalty to be issued.[15] There were two retirements. On the opening lap, Pierre Gasly reported gearbox issues which forced him to retire. Lance Stroll retired on lap 7 due to a crash which brought out a safety car.[16] Kevin Magnussen of Haas was given a 20-second time penalty during the race. Knowing that he was unlikely to finish in the points, the team ordered him to focus on defense during the wide parts of the circuit, and drive as slowly as possible in the narrow parts of the circuit while overtaking is most difficult. With Magnussen backing up the drivers behind, Nico Hülkenberg successfully finished tenth and earned a point for the team.[17]

Polesitter Max Verstappen won the race ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez, marking a second straight 12 for Red Bull Racing, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in third. This marked Verstappen's 100th career podium.[18][16] McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished fourth with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in fifth. Mercedes' George Russell finished sixth with Ferrari debutant Oliver Bearman in seventh. They were followed by Lando Norris, who briefly led the Grand Prix, in eighth, and Lewis Hamilton in ninth, after both drivers attempted an alternate tyre strategy. Nico Hülkenberg claimed the final point in tenth, clinching his and Haas's first point of the season.[16]

Race classification

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Notes

  • ^1 Sergio Pérez received a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release. His final position was not affected by the penalty.[19]
  • ^2 – Includes one point for fastest lap.[20]
  • ^3 Kevin Magnussen finished 11th, but received two ten-second time penalties. The first was for causing a collision with Alexander Albon, and the second was for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while overtaking Yuki Tsunoda.[19][16]
  • ^4 Yuki Tsunoda finished 14th on track, but received a post-race five-second time penalty for an unsafe release.[19]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also


References

  1. "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Race". Formula 1. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  2. "Saudi Arabia". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  3. Bekking, Casper (10 February 2024). "Why F1 Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs are on Saturday". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  4. "Bahrain 2024 – Championship". Stats F1. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  5. "2024 Tyre Compound Choices – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia". Pirelli. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 1 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  7. Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 2 delayed". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  8. Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 2 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  9. Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 3 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  10. "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  11. Wood, Will (9 March 2024). "Stewards explain why Norris avoided jump start penalty". RaceFans. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  12. "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Race Result". Formula 1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  13. "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  14. "Saudi Arabia 2024". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  15. "Saudi Arabia 2024 – Championship". Stats F1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.

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