2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Race 2 of 22[a] in the 2023 Formula One World Championship
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The circuit layout
The circuit layout
Race details[2]
Date 19 March 2023
Official name Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
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
Attendance 150,000[3]
Pole position
Driver
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:28.265
Fastest lap
Driver Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Time 1:31.906 on lap 50
Podium
First
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Second
Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT
Third
Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 March 2023 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was the second round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship.

Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Pérez took his second career pole position, and won the race ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen in second and Fernando Alonso in third.

Background

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The event was held across the weekend of 17–19 March. It was the second round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship.

Championship standings before the race

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Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the World Drivers' Championship with 25 points, 7 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez, second, and 10 from Fernando Alonso, third. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship from Aston Martin by 20 points and Mercedes by 27 points.

Entrants

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See also: 2023 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[4]

Tyre choices

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Further information: Formula One tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.[5]

Track changes

[edit]

Turns 22 and 23 were tightened and the walls were moved back at several corners, due to safety concerns relating to fast, blind corners.[6][7][8] Kerbing was also altered to improve safety.[9] Additionally, the third DRS detection point was moved farther ahead, being positioned on the exit of turn 27. As a result, the third DRS activation point was moved farther ahead, being positioned 170 metres (560 ft) after turn 27. Changes to the DRS zones were made in response to dangerous tactics employed at previous editions of the Grand Prix, where drivers would brake erratically for turn 27, in order to fall behind the opposition and gain the advantage of DRS.[10][11]

Practice

[edit]

Three free practice sessions were held prior to qualifying, two on Friday and one on Saturday afternoon. The first practice session ended with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen setting the fastest time ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. His teammate Lance Stroll and Mercedes' George Russell capped off the top five.[12] The second practice session saw Alonso split the Red Bull pairing of Verstappen and Pérez, ahead of Esteban Ocon and Russell.[13] The third and final practice session ended with Verstappen and Pérez on top again ahead of the Aston Martin pairing, with Lewis Hamilton completing the top five.[14]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on 18 March 2023, starting at 20:00 local time (UTC+3).

Qualifying report

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The first segment ended with Yuki Tsunoda, Alexander Albon, Nyck de Vries, Lando Norris and Logan Sargeant setting the five slowest times resulting in their elimination. Norris broke the front-left suspension of his car through hitting a wall during his second timed lap, while Sargeant first had a lap time deleted for a track limit violation, spun on his second attempt to set a meaningful lap time and finally had to park his car trackside following a mechanical failure during his final attempt.[15] This left him without a lap time within 107% of the fastest Q1 time. Sargeant was permitted to race by the stewards.[16]

During the second segment Verstappen's car suddenly slowed down while trying to set his first fast lap. He was able to limp back to the pits, but what was later identified as a driveshaft failure prevented him from taking part in qualifying any further and this left him in fifteenth place. Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were eliminated alongside him.[17]

During the final segment Pérez set the fastest time, taking his second career pole position. Leclerc set the second fastest time, but took a ten-place grid penalty after a new set of control electronics was installed on his car in breach of the allowed quota for the season. Alonso set the third fastest time ahead of Mercedes' George Russell. Carlos Sainz Jr. posted the fifth time in the second Ferrari ahead of Stroll and Alpine's Esteban Ocon. Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly completed the top ten.[18]

Qualifying classification

[edit]
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:29.244 1:28.635 1:28.265 1
2 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.376 1:28.903 1:28.420 121
3 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:29.298 1:28.757 1:28.730 2
4 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1:29.592 1:29.132 1:28.857 3
5 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:29.411 1:28.957 1:28.931 4
6 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 1:29.335 1:28.962 1:28.945 5
7 31 France Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1:29.707 1:29.255 1:29.078 6
8 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:29.689 1:29.374 1:29.223 7
9 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.706 1:29.378 1:29.243 8
10 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1:29.890 1:29.411 1:29.357 9
11 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 1:29.547 1:29.451 N/A 10
12 24 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:29.654 1:29.461 N/A 11
13 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:29.744 1:29.634 N/A 13
14 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:29.929 1:29.668 N/A 14
15 1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 1:28.761 1:49.953 N/A 15
16 22 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:29.939 N/A N/A 16
17 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1:29.994 N/A N/A 17
18 21 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 1:30.244 N/A N/A 18
19 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.447 N/A N/A 19
107% time: 1:34.974
— 2 United States Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 2:08.510 N/A N/A 202
Source:[19][20]

Notes

  • ^1 – Charles Leclerc received a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of control electronics elements.[21]
  • ^2 – Logan Sargeant failed to set a time within the 107% requirement. He was permitted to race at the stewards' discretion.[20]

Race

[edit]

The race was held on 19 March 2023, starting at 20:00 local time (UTC+3).

Race report

[edit]

After the end of the formation lap, Alonso lined up with the left side of his car outside of the starting position on the grid. At the start, he managed to squeeze past Pérez to take the lead, with Russell following third place. However, he was soon handed a five-second penalty for not properly lining up his car on the starting grid. Behind them Stroll overtook Sainz for fourth place, with Ocon and Hamilton behind them. Piastri, who had started in eighth place, made contact with Gasly while exiting turn two and this forced him to make a pit stop for a new front wing. His teammate Norris ran over the debris left from the coming together and he was required to make a pitstop as well, one lap later. This left the McLaren pairing at the back of the field.[22] Leclerc and Zhou completed the top ten behind Gasly, with the Monegasque having gained four places from his starting position.[23]

Alonso was able to stay in the lead for three laps, before being passed by Pérez. The top ten then remained relatively stable for a couple of laps, with Leclerc passing Gasly to take eight place during lap seven. Meanwhile, Verstappen was also recovering from his starting position down the order, entering the top ten during lap eight at the expense of Zhou. He gained another place one lap later, passing Gasly, while Leclerc also continued to move forward, through passing Hamilton. Three laps later Verstappen managed to overtake Hamilton as well and one lap later he and Leclerc both passed Ocon.[24]

In the meantime, during lap twelve, Zhou and Hülkenberg were the first drivers to make a regular pitstop for a fresh set of tyres. One lap later, Lance Stroll became the first of the front runners to follow suit, all three of them switching from the medium to the hardest compound in a bid to complete the race with one tyre change. This dropped Stroll to eleventh place. Gasly made his tyre change and the end of the next lap. Sainz, Leclerc and Ocon followed suit during the next two laps, with Sainz rejoining the track ahead of Stroll. This all promoted Verstappen to third place. Shortly afterwards, during lap seventeen, Stroll was suddenly asked to stop his car on track over his team's radio and duly did so in a service area on the outside of turn thirteen. Nevertheless, the safety car was deployed shortly afterwards. This prompted all drivers who had not yet made their regular tyre changes (including the then top five of Pérez, Alonso, Russell, Verstappen and Hamilton) to come into the pits to perform the change, while Alonso also served his five-second time penalty.[25]

The safety car left the track at the end of lap twenty to allow normal racing to resume. Pérez led from Alonso, ahead of Russell in third and Verstappen now fourth. Sainz completed the top five. Over the next two Laps, Hamilton passed Sainz for fifth place and Verstappen Russell for third respectively. At the end of the following lap Verstappen passed Alonso to move into second place.[26]

During lap twenty-eight, Albon was forced to retire his Williams because of a brake failure. The top ten was Pérez, Verstappen, Alonso, Russell, Hamilton, Sainz, Leclerc, Ocon, and Gasly, with Tsunoda joining them. This order remained stable for the next eighteen laps, when Magnussen passed Tsunoda to snatch the final points.[27]

During the final laps first Mercedes and then Aston Martin mentioned over the radio that Alonso could potentially incur an additional penalty of five seconds. Alonso reacted to this by extending his gap over Russell to over five seconds, despite no official message citing an investigation being shown. Despite both reporting issues with their cars, Pérez and Verstappen easily finished first and second, with Verstappen posting the fastest lap during the last lap and taking the extra point to retain the championship lead. Alonso finished third, making him the sixth driver to have scored 100 podiums in his Formula One career, ahead of Russell and Hamilton. Sainz, Leclerc, Ocon, Gasly and Magnussen completed the top ten.[28]

Post-race

[edit]

Shortly after the podium ceremony, an official message was shown that Alonso was under investigation for not having served the first penalty correctly at his pit stop. Minutes later he was handed a ten-second penalty dropping him to fourth behind Russell. The reason given for the ten-second penalty was due to the fact that the rear jack was touching the car while the five-second penalty was still being served, in addition to another mechanic potentially making contact with the car in the same period of time.[29] However, Aston Martin requested a further review of the penalty, and upon analysing the additional evidence the stewards decided to rescind the penalty and have Alonso's third place reinstated.[30][31] Alonso criticised the FIA for its delayed response, having been informed of his penalty after the podium celebrations;[32] Russell criticised the penalties as being "too extreme".[33] The FIA clarified the matter before the next round of the championship, stating that neither jacks, nor any other tools or mechanics can touch the car when a driver serves their penalty at a pit stop.[34] On 4 March 2024, the BBC reported that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was being investigated for allegedly influencing the stewards decision to overturn Alonso's penalty.[35]

Race classification

[edit]
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 1:21:14.894 1 25
2 1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT 50 +5.355 15 191
3 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 50 +20.728 2 15
4 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 50 +25.866 3 12
5 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 50 +31.065 7 10
6 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 50 +35.876 4 8
7 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 50 +43.162 12 6
8 31 France Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 50 +52.832 6 4
9 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 50 +54.747 9 2
10 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 50 +1:04.826 13 1
11 22 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 50 +1:07.494 16
12 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Haas-Ferrari 50 +1:10.588 10
13 24 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 50 +1:16.060 11
14 21 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT 50 +1:17.478 18
15 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 50 +1:25.021 8
16 2 United States Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes 50 +1:26.293 20
17 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 50 +1:26.445 19
18 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 49 +1 lap 14
Ret 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 27 Brakes 17
Ret 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes 16 Engine 5
Fastest lap: Netherlands Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT) – 1:31.906 (lap 50)
Source:[20][36][37][38]

Notes

  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.[37]

Championship standings after the race

[edit]
For full season standings, see 2023 Formula One World Championship § Results and standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

[edit]

Notes

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  1. ^ At the time of the event Formula One planned to hold twenty-three Grands Prix.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Formula 1 update on the 2023 calendar". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023, Saudi Arabia – F1 Race". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Ranked: The Top Attended Formula 1 Races in 2023". f1destinations.com. 1 December 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 Tyre Compound Choices – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia". Pirelli. 15 February 2023. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Jeddah Corniche Circuit announce track changes ahead of 2023 Saudi Arabian GP". Formula 1. 28 November 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  7. ^ Woodhouse, Jamie (16 March 2023). "FIA confirm the lengthy list of track changes made at the Jeddah F1 circuit". PlanetF1. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  8. ^ Wood, Ida (14 March 2023). "Verstappen welcomes changes to "dangerous" Jeddah". RaceFans. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  9. ^ Cooper, Adam (17 March 2023). "Why Jeddah changes could test F1 track limits rules". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  10. ^ Tomlinson, Sam (15 March 2023). "FIA intervenes to end DRS cat-and-mouse games at Jeddah". Motorsport Week. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  11. ^ Cleeren, Filip (15 March 2023). "FIA moves third DRS activation point for Saudi F1 GP". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  12. ^ Kaulinackis, Alex (17 March 2023). "Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen tops first F1 practice from Perez, Alonso". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  13. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (17 March 2023). "Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen pips Alonso by 0.2s in second F1 practice". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  14. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (18 March 2023). "F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen heads FP3 by 0.6s from Perez, Alonso". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  15. ^ Johnston, Sam (18 March 2023). "Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying: Sergio Perez takes pole after Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen makes shock Q2 exit". Sky Sports F1. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  16. ^ "2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Decision - Car 2 - Failure to set a time within 107%" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 18 March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  17. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (18 March 2023). "F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Perez grabs pole as Verstappen hits trouble". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Perez storms to pole for Saudi Arabian GP as Verstappen suffers dramatic Q2 exit". Formula 1. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b c "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 – Starting Grid". Formula 1. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Ferrari make further power unit changes ahead of Saudi Arabian GP". Formula1.com. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  22. ^ Cooper, Adam (20 March 2023). "McLaren's Piastri "surprised" by Gasly contact damage in Saudi Arabian GP". Autosport. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  23. ^ "2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix report and highlights: Perez fends off Verstappen to win action-packed Saudi Arabian GP as Alonso takes 100th podium". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  24. ^ Johnston, Sam (20 March 2023). "Saudi Arabian GP: Sergio Perez holds off Max Verstappen to seal Red Bull one-two in Jeddah". Sky Sports F1. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  25. ^ Boxall-Legge, Jake (19 March 2023). "F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Perez cruises to Red Bull 1-2 as penalty denies Alonso podium". Autosport. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  26. ^ Benson, Andrew (19 March 2023). "Perez wins Saudi Arabian GP in Red Bull one-two". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Sergio Pérez wins from Max Verstappen as Red Bull dominance continues at Saudi Arabian GP, Lewis Hamilton fifth". TNT Sports. 20 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Perez details 'intense' finale after holding off Verstappen to win at Jeddah". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  29. ^ "EXPLAINED: Why did Fernando Alonso originally get a penalty in Jeddah?". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Fernando Alonso restored to third place at Saudi Arabian GP and hits out at 'poor show' from FIA". Sky Sports F1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  31. ^ "'I am happy in the end with the result' – Alonso relieved after 100th career podium reinstated in Jeddah". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  32. ^ Cobb, Haydn; Kew, Matt (20 March 2023). "Alonso: Something "really wrong" with FIA system for late F1 Saudi GP penalty". Autosport. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  33. ^ Cobb, Haydn (20 March 2023). "Russell: Alonso's penalties in Saudi Arabian GP too extreme". Autosport. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  34. ^ Cooper, Adam (31 March 2023). "FIA bans jacks touching F1 cars during pitstop penalties after Alonso review". Autosport. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  35. ^ Benson, Andrew (4 March 2024). "Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA president under investigation for alleged attempt to interfere over F1 race". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Formula STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 – Race Result". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  37. ^ a b "Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 – Fastest Laps". Formula 1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  38. ^ "Saudi Arabia 2023". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  39. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia 2023 – Championship". Stats F1. 19 March 2023. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
[edit]
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2023 Australian Grand Prix
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2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 		Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Next race:
2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
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