2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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.

2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Race 2 of 24 in the 2024 Formula One World Championship
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The circuit layout
The circuit layout
Race details[1]
Date 9 March 2024
Official name Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
Location Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Course Street Circuit
Course length 6.174 km (3.836 miles)
Distance 50 laps, 308.450 km (191.662 miles)
Weather Clear
Pole position
Driver Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:27.472
Fastest lap
Driver Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari
Time 1:31.632 on lap 50
Podium
First Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Second Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

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

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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

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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

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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

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Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (the middle three in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[8]

Practice

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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

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

Qualifying classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:28.171 1:28.033 1:27.472 1
2 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.318 1:28.112 1:27.791 2
3 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:28.638 1:28.467 1:27.807 3
4 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:28.706 1:28.122 1:27.846 4
5 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.755 1:28.343 1:28.089 5
6 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.805 1:28.479 1:28.132 6
7 63   George Russell Mercedes 1:28.749 1:28.448 1:28.316 7
8 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.994 1:28.606 1:28.460 8
9 22   Yuki Tsunoda RB-Honda RBPT 1:28.988 1:28.564 1:28.547 9
10 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:28.250 1:28.578 1:28.572 10
11 38   Oliver Bearman Ferrari 1:28.984 1:28.642 N/A 11
12 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:29.107 1:28.980 N/A 12
13 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:29.069 1:29.020 N/A 13
14 3   Daniel Ricciardo RB-Honda RBPT 1:29.065 1:29.025 N/A 14
15 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:29.055 No time N/A 15
16 77   Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.179 N/A N/A 16
17 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:29.475 N/A N/A 17
18 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:29.479 N/A N/A 18
19 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 1:29.526 N/A N/A 19
107% time: 1:34.342
24   Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber-Ferrari No time N/A N/A 201
Source:[13][14]

Notes

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

Race

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

Race report

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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. Before the race, on the formation lap, Pierre Gasly reported gearbox issues which forced him to retire before the start of the race. Lance Stroll retired on lap 7 due to a crash at Turn 23 which brought out a safety car.[16] Kevin Magnussen of Haas accumulated 20 seconds worth of penalties. One of these was a 10-second penalty for a collision with Alexander Albon, and the other 10-second penalty was for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda off-track. 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, teammate Nico Hülkenberg successfully finished tenth and earned his and Haas' first point of the season.[17]

Polesitter Max Verstappen won the race ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez, marking a second straight 1–2 for Red Bull Racing, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in third with one extra point for the fastest lap. 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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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 1:20:43.273 1 25
2 11   Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 +13.6431 3 18
3 16   Charles Leclerc Ferrari 50 +18.639 2 162
4 81   Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 50 +32.007 5 12
5 14   Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 50 +35.759 4 10
6 63   George Russell Mercedes 50 +39.936 7 8
7 38   Oliver Bearman Ferrari 50 +42.679 11 6
8 4   Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 50 +45.708 6 4
9 44   Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 50 +47.391 8 2
10 27   Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 50 +1:16.996 15 1
11 23   Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 50 +1:28.354 12
12 20   Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 50 +1:45.7373 13
13 31   Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 49 +1 lap 17
14 2   Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 49 +1 lap 19
15 22   Yuki Tsunoda RB-Honda RBPT 49 +1 lap4 9
16 3   Daniel Ricciardo RB-Honda RBPT 49 +1 lap 14
17 77   Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber-Ferrari 49 +1 lap 16
18 24   Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber-Ferrari 49 +1 lap 20
Ret 18   Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 5 Accident 10
Ret 10   Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1 Gearbox 18
Fastest lap:   Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:31.632 (lap 50)
Source:[14][19][20][21]

Notes

  • ^1Sergio 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]
  • ^3Kevin 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]
  • ^4Yuki 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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – P1 Classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  6. ^ "2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Revised Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  7. ^ Cleeren, Filip (8 March 2024). "Bearman replaces Sainz at Ferrari for Saudi Arabian GP after appendicitis diagnosis". Autosport.
  8. ^ "2024 Tyre Compound Choices – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia". Pirelli. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ^ Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 1 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  10. ^ Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 2 delayed". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  11. ^ Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 2 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  12. ^ Gale, Ewan (7 March 2024). "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Free Practice 3 results". Racingnews365. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  13. ^ "2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Final Qualifying Classification" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  15. ^ Wood, Will (9 March 2024). "Stewards explain why Norris avoided jump start penalty". RaceFans. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d "Verstappen seals assured victory in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Bearman scores points on debut". Formula1.com. 9 March 2024.
  17. ^ ""We really earned it today" Kevin happy to help Haas score 'huge' point". Formula 1. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  18. ^ "'It's 88 missed podiums!' – Verstappen reflects on 100th F1 rostrum appearance as he praises 'fantastic' Bearman". Formula One Management. 9 March 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Race Result". Formula 1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Saudi Arabia 2024". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia 2024 – Championship". Stats F1. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
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2024 Bahrain Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
2024 season
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2024 Australian Grand Prix
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2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Next race:
2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix