Jeddah, the hardest circuit for Gasly to memorize

If you have also taken a look at the first virtual renderings of an on-board camera tour of the Jeddah circuit, you will have been able to realize the speed of the Saudi circuit, built in record time and which hosts the F1 for the first time this weekend (December 3-5).

Returning from his exploration walking tour with his trail engineer Alpha Tauri Pierre Hamelin, Pierre Gasly confirmed these impressions.

« To ride, it's going to be something, whispered the French pilot, visibly excited. It's going to be pretty impressive. It's a real challenge with all these blind turns. There isn't a corner where you see what's going on behind.

It is extremely fast, the average speed is 240-250 km/h. There are a lot of turns above 200 km/h. In terms of concentration, it will be quite high, the same in terms of adrenaline. I look forward to seeing the results ».

Gasly also admitted that memorizing the 27 turns of a Corniche circuit, 6,174 km long (a city record) and where everything looks the same, was no easy task!

« I think it was the circuit that took me a little longer to remember, confessed the Norman. Afterwards, it's relative, it maybe took me 5-6 laps to get the rhythm, the lines, the vibrators.

Compared to a traditional circuit, it's different. It feels like we're in a tunnel. As soon as there is a turn, you don't see what happens next, you really have to memorize everything.

Usually, we have reference points that allow us to recognize where we are. There, they're the same walls, there aren't really any vibrators, they look very similar ».

Gasly expects to be as physically and mentally rinsed after the 50 laps of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he would be during a race in Singapore.

« I think it will be quite intense with a lot of very fast turns, it will require a lot of energy from you in terms of concentration », concluded the French driver, also predicting at least three Safety Car interventions on Sunday…