The second round of the 2024 F1 season will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the third consecutive year. After a dominant display by Red Bull and Max Verstappen in Round 1, there is hope for the exhilarating and fast-paced Jeddah Corniche Circuit to even the playing field. With this, we take a look at what the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP has in store for us.
This is the fourth installment of the Saudi Arabian GP, and so far, we have had three different winners in three years. In 2021, Lewis Hamilton won the outing, followed by the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez taking wins in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Who ends up taking the win this Saturday, remains to be seen. Although, Verstappen is the firm favorite heading into the race.
Why is the Saudi Arabian GP on Saturday?
Like Bahrain, the Saudi Arabian GP will take place on a Saturday. The Holy month of Ramadan starts on March 10th, so Saudi Arabia wanted to be done by the race on the 9th. F1 and the FIA agreed to this, which is why FP1 and FP2 will take place on Thursday, 7th March. On Friday, 8th March, FP3 and Qualifying take place, followed by the Grand Prix on Saturday.
Because of Saudi Arabian rules, Bahrain had to host their Grand Prix on Saturday too. There has to be a seven-day gap between two races according to FIA regulations. Jeddah couldn’t have hosted a race on Saturday if Bahrain had theirs last Sunday. The two nations complied, which is why the 2024 season starts with two Saturday Grand Prix races.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Schedule
The 2024 Saudi Arabian GP features a traditional Grand Prix format, instead of a Sprint weekend, which will be seen on six occasions later this year. The weekend begins on Thursday (7th March) with FP1 and FP2. On Friday, drivers will take part in FP3 and qualifying, whereas the race will take place on Saturday. The complete schedule for the same is as follows:
| Session | Date | Time |
| FP1 | 7th March, Thursday | 8:30-9:30 ET (16:30-17:30 local) |
| FP2 | 7th March, Thursday | 12:00-13:00 ET (20:00-21:00 local) |
| FP3 | 8th March, Friday | 8:30-9:30 ET (16:30-17:30 local) |
| Qualifying | 8th March, Friday | 12:00-13:00 ET (20:00-21:00 local) |
| Grand Prix | 9th March, Saturday | 12:00 ET (20:00) |
Weather forecast in Jeddah for Saudi Arabian GP
Jeddah is a city that isn’t as affected by rain as some other F1 venues around the world normally are. Drivers and fans can travel to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit without any worry of rain marring their weekend. According to The Weather Channel, all three days will be sunny, and breezy, with a a maximum of 5% chance of rain.
Thursday, 7th March
Maximum- 31 Celsius (87 Fahrenheit)
Minimum- 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit)
Chances of rain- 4%
Friday, 8th March
Maximum- 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit)
Minimum- 19 Celsius (66 Fahrenheit)
Chances of rain- 5%
Thursday, 7th March
Maximum- 31 Celsius (87 Fahrenheit)
Minimum- 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit)
Chances of rain- 2%
Everything you need to know about Jeddah Corniche Circuit
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit has always received mixed reviews. It is the fastest street circuit in the world but there are concerns regarding its safety. In the first two installments of the Saudi Arabian GP, we saw multiple crashes that brought out several safety cars and red flags.
Mick Schumacher will miss the Saudi Arabian GP after a huge accident in qualifying.
That Mick is physically well after the crash is another reminder of the strength and safety of modern F1 cars for which we are incredibly thankful#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qhLcw0elb7
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 26, 2022
Drivers like George Russell have often called for safety standards in this circuit to be improved. However, in 2023, there weren’t many incidents hindering a dominant Red Bull 1-2 on the banks of the Red Sea.
Jeddah Corniche Circuit Length and laps
The Grand Prix circuit layout is 3.836 miles (6.174 km) long, and there are 50 laps around this circuit. The relatively long circuit length made the FIA reduce the number of laps around this circuit, which has 3 DRS zones.
The layout features some of the fastest-paced corners around the world, and drivers have to be extremely careful and vigilant while navigating through this unforgiving track. Over the years, we have seen some big crashes here, and also some heartbreaking ones.
In 2021, Max Verstappen was moments away from securing a pole position in the first-ever Qualifying in Jeddah. However, a small mistake while trying to push too hard put his car in the barrier on the final corner. This is something drivers avoid doing here.
Did you know that in 2021 Max Verstappen crashed at Jeddah in Q3 on the final corner after going purple-purple
Has anyone mentioned that yet this weekend?
— Aldas (@Aldas001) March 17, 2023
Track Records and Past Winners
| Year | Pole Position | Race Winner |
| 2021 Saudi Arabian GP | Lewis Hamilton | Lewis Hamilton |
| 2022 Saudi Arabian GP | Sergio Perez | Max Verstappen |
| 2023 Saudi Arabian GP | Sergio Perez | Sergio Perez |
The fastest lap time around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit was set by none other than Lewis Hamilton in 2021. The Briton dominated the race, finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen, and his best lap time was 1:30.734. His win that evening in Jeddah also remains his last F1 win at the time of writing.
Tire compounds available for Saudi Arabian GP
Despite its long, fast, and unforgiving layout, Jeddah is relatively easy on the tires. This will make it easier for teams to be more flexible with their strategies, and use softer compounds for longer runs, or try using the undercut to their advantage.
According to Pirelli, round 2 of the 2024 season will feature a completely different layout, even though Bahrain and Jeddah are geographically not too different from one another. The tarmac is softer and could end up benefitting some teams more than others.
The distance between Sakhir and Jeddah is only 1260 kilometres as the crow flies, but the characteristics of the two tracks could not be more different This is what we can expect for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Read more https://t.co/S863qDSFkL#Fit4F1 #Formula1 #Pirelli @F1 pic.twitter.com/GZ17KBVplH— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) March 5, 2024
The C2, C3, and C4 tires will be available for teams to use, with C2 being the hards, C3 being the mediums, and C4, being the soft tires. Wet and intermediate compound tires also travel with the teams, but it is highly unlikely they will be of any use.
