Drivers excited about the Jeddah route but worried about traffic

The organizers of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had promised the fastest street circuit in the world. They apparently kept their word, if we are to believe the feelings of the pilots on Friday evening, who confirmed the visual impressions.

On the evening of the first free practice sessions, the riders were visibly seduced by the challenge represented by this narrow ribbon of asphalt with 27 turns, 6,175 km long and covered at a breathtaking average of 252 km/h.

« The circuit is incredibly fast, blew Lewis Hamilton, author of the two best times of the day. It also offers a lot of grip. Once you find the right rhythm, it's a great track ».

At Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel described the circuit as “ fast and fun, but difficult to master on a ride ". " It doesn't give you time to breathe and there's no room for error », added the four-time German world champion.

His former teammate Ferrari Charles Leclerc unfortunately paid the price in the final moments of Free Practice 2. Victim of a violent exit from the track at turn 22, the Monegasque was transported to the medical center where he received the green light to continue riding this weekend. end.

Despite the shock, its chassis and powertrain were also declared good for service by the Scuderia on Friday evening.

If the drivers agree to find the Corniche circuit enjoyable, they also agree to recognize that it could pose a problem in qualifying in terms of traffic.

In fact, the track is so fast that the speed differences between the cars going full throttle and those in a launch or deceleration lap is colossal.

This differential gave rise to some frightening scenes during the first free practice sessions, notably when Hamilton came across a car of slow-moving single-seaters in the last sector.

« It's clearly worse than on many other circuits, recognized the seven-time champion, who is 8 points behind Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in the Drivers classification. The speed at which you pounce on others in slow motion puts you in a danger zone ».

his compatriot Lando Norris expects the qualifying session to be somewhat " chaotic ". " It's not because others are making a mistake, it's just that you don't know what's behind the curve », explained the pilot McLaren, modest 12th in Free Practice 2.

Many curves on the Jeddah circuit are indeed negotiated blindly. “ Obviously my engineers are there to guide me and tell me if there are people ahead at slow motion, Norris clarified.

It's a very complicated circuit and requires a lot of concentration because it's super fast. On a track like Monaco, you have to concentrate a lot but you also have very slow sections which allow you to breathe a little. And it's a little easier to judge where the walls are.

Here, everything is ultra-fast so it's complicated to correctly estimate the distance that separates you from the wall. I'm expecting a tough race but it's a fun track, especially the first sector. There is a real rhythm in the sequence of turns ».

Fast but potentially dangerous, that's the drivers' verdict after the first laps in Jeddah.

Relive the drama from Jeddah's second practice session?#SaudiArabianGP ?? #F1

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 3, 2021