Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Betting Preview

A fortnight after Max Verstappen romped to victory and secured Red Bull a one-two victory in Bahrain, the scene is set at the 6.175 km-long Jeddah Corniche circuit for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso drove his Aston to third place, executing brilliant overtakes on Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton along the way.

The second race of the season is likely to shine a brighter light on two of the sport’s biggest teams: Ferrari and Mercedes. Charles Leclerc will take a grid penalty for Sunday’s race after the Italian team announced it changed a control electronics power unit component for the third time. Teams are only allowed two changes before incurring a grid penalty.

F1.com reported that Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur said: “Unfortunately, we’ll have to take the penalty in Jeddah because we have only a pool of two control units for the season.”

Meanwhile, at Mercedes, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton openly criticised the team for ignoring feedback he gave them about last year’s W13 car. Hamilton finished the season winless, the first time in his career, with teammate George Russell securing the team’s solitary win in Brazil.

Speaking to the BBC on its Chequered Flag podcast, the 38-year-old said: “Last year, I told them the issues that are with the car. “Like, I’ve driven so many cars in my life, so I know what a car needs, I know what a car doesn’t need. And I think it’s really about accountability, it’s about owning up and saying ‘yeah, you know what, we didn’t listen to you, it’s not where it needs to be and we’ve got to work’.”

Besides Red Bull, Aston Martin is the other team beaming ahead of this weekend’s race. Alonso’s performance in Bahrain propelled him to Bet.co.za‘s third favourite for the victory at 8.00, ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, and Hamilton. Verstappen is the favourite at odds of 1.44 and teammate Sergio Perez at 6.50.

The Track

The consensus among drivers is that F1’s fastest street circuit layout needed urgent attention to make it safer. Mercifully, that has taken place. The perimeter of the track has been altered at turns 22 and 23. The fences alongside the track have been moved back and steel plates have been removed from six corners. The changes were completed to give drivers more visibility, and with an average speed of 250km/h, it’s needed.

Mick Schumacher suffered a huge crash during qualifying last year, and the blame was put squarely on the high kerbs. Saudi Arabian Grand Prix CEO Martin Whitaker said they’ve made changes to the curbs for the cars to deal with them far better. The 2022 cars ran much lower than their predecessors and therefore changes to the track this year are necessary.

Maximum Attack

Verstappen will begin the weekend in Jeddah as the favourite to win after his outstanding performance here last year. The Dutch driver looked imperious in the RB19 two weeks ago, and Sunday could see him dominate the race. Alonso is the surprise package and the Spaniard will look to extract as much performance from a track that requires a low downforce setup. I see the two-time champion rubbing shoulders on the podium under the Jeddah night sky.

Another strong bet is for Leclerc to take pole position at 3.10. Yes, his Ferrari had issues in the opening race, but the Monegasque driver is rapid over one lap and could’ve pipped Verstappen had he not suffered an electronic issue in qualifying.

The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Russell have their backs against the wall and will have a more fit Lance Stroll to deal with in Saudi Arabia. The W13 is so far off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari that it’s hard to put money on either drive for a podium finish.

The midfield battle is likely to feature new Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Look out for Valtteri Bottas who finished eighth in Bahrain and gets a lot out of the Alfa Romeo package. Lando Norris will hope that McLaren has sorted out the issues that plagued him in Bahrain, and will need to better a DNF a fortnight ago.

Listen to the Saudi Arabian GP Preview podcast here:

Verdict

Safety Car: Yes

Top 10: Hulkenberg, Albon, Tsunoda