Jeddah’s Street Race: A Tactical Battle of Wits and Wheels

Get ready for an exhilarating contest on Jeddah’s Corniche circuit, where the starting positions may not determine the final outcome. Max Verstappen, sitting on pole, faces a formidable challenge from Oscar Piastri’s faster McLaren. Lando Norris, starting 10th after his Q3 crash, finds himself behind the likes of Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, and Yuki Tsunoda.

Tyre Management and Strategy: The X-Factor in Jeddah

While the lack of overtaking options might raise concerns about dramatic changes in position, Jeddah’s race could be more dynamic than Suzuka. Bahrain, on the other hand, was an open race with high tyre wear and two pit stops. This race seems to fall somewhere in the middle, with Pirelli’s softer tyre choices and three powerful DRS zones adding spice to the action.

Can Verstappen outmaneuver Piastri? After another blistering pole position, Verstappen expressed doubts about his ability to repeat his Suzuka heroics in Saudi Arabia. Red Bull’s race pace looked poor compared to McLaren‘s superior management of the rear tyres, which will be the limiting factor this weekend. However, Verstappen remains hopeful, as his car showed improvement from Friday and he believes it could help their tyre life.

Lando Norris’s Challenge from 10th Position

While Piastri primarily focuses on passing Verstappen, Norris finds himself in the middle of the pack, surrounded by the dirty air caused by the train of cars ahead. If he were in McLaren‘s shoes, Pirelli’s motorsport chief Mario Isola suggests starting on hards or mediums, each offering its unique benefits.

The unused hard tyre holds the key. In Jeddah, that tyre is Pirelli’s C3 compound, which was its soft tyre in Bahrain. A one-stop using hards and mediums is comfortably the best strategy, according to Isola. However, traffic management is crucial when starting out of position, making the hard tyre less ideal in this case.

Out of the front-runners, only Norris has a fresh set of softs available, but according to Isola, those are unlikely to come into play unless there is a late safety car. The Italian suggests that if both McLarens start with mediums, it wouldn’t be surprising.