Official 2022 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
Discussion
Round 2 already and we’re on to Saudi. The Jeddah circuit has apparently been re-profiled for better line of sight, but it still looks pretty dangerous to me.
It will be interesting to see if Ferrari can keep up the early momentum and whether Mclaren and Mercedes can sort out their problems- must be doubtful so soon after Bahrain.
Here’s to another great race.
Date(s): Friday 25 March to Sunday 27 March 2022.
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1 and as highlights on Channel 4.
Live timing for all sessions available here:
https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html
Lap times, PU component use, technical reports and Stewards' decisions for the weekend will appear here:
https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-c...
Weather forecast:
https://www.bbc.com/weather/105343
Tyre options:
Pirelli is bringing the middle 3 compounds to Bahrain. The old Q2 tyre rule is scrapped for 2022.
2021 race result:
2021 Race Highlights (a painful watch for Max fans)
https://youtu.be/vRhhS6BnLSY
It will be interesting to see if Ferrari can keep up the early momentum and whether Mclaren and Mercedes can sort out their problems- must be doubtful so soon after Bahrain.
Here’s to another great race.
Date(s): Friday 25 March to Sunday 27 March 2022.
UK Broadcast Timings (and local time)
All sessions are live on Sky F1 and as highlights on Channel 4.
Live timing for all sessions available here:
https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html
Lap times, PU component use, technical reports and Stewards' decisions for the weekend will appear here:
https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-c...
Weather forecast:
https://www.bbc.com/weather/105343
Tyre options:
Pirelli is bringing the middle 3 compounds to Bahrain. The old Q2 tyre rule is scrapped for 2022.
2021 race result:
2021 Race Highlights (a painful watch for Max fans)
https://youtu.be/vRhhS6BnLSY
Yep, these threads are my go-to resource for everything F1 throughout the year so it's a big thanks from me too.
This is going to be an interesting race I think, with less than 7 days since Bahrain it's unlikely that any major step-changes will have occurred so my money has to be on Ferrari again I think.
I do hope that Mclaren can do something though, I'd hate for them to have another troubled season.
This is going to be an interesting race I think, with less than 7 days since Bahrain it's unlikely that any major step-changes will have occurred so my money has to be on Ferrari again I think.
I do hope that Mclaren can do something though, I'd hate for them to have another troubled season.
Thanks @pinginapoke, hard to see anyone but Ferrari here, although Merc have been quick in high speed turns.
Would be nice to see an alpine top 5.
A few safety cars / Red Flags could have an upset.
Oh well at least red bull won’t be able to pick there grid positions on any re starts this year!
Would be nice to see an alpine top 5.
A few safety cars / Red Flags could have an upset.
Oh well at least red bull won’t be able to pick there grid positions on any re starts this year!
A very different circuit from Bahrain, but how much that might shake up the competitive order? I don't know enough about how the cars are utilising the tyres to speculate.
Hamilton said in Bahrain that the Mercedes' porpoising was not limited to the straights. The Saudi circuit is non-stop very fast corners through which the cars may porpoise. Quite a scary prospect.
Mclaren could be interesting, they had different problems from the others in Bahrain, perhaps problems which could have partially addressed in the couple of weeks since they were first identified? I feel that Mclaren will suddenly get the car working again and will leap forward into the 3rd / 4th fastest slot where they were expected to be.
Will Red Bull Honda have to detune the PUs in some way to avoid a repeat of the Gasly failure? will the fuel pump issue affect their performance or reliability again? Do Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine have the ability to turn theirs up?
I am sure it'll still be Ferrari and Red Bull out in front, but Red Bull were close enough that the order may flip flop from one circuit to the next?
Hamilton said in Bahrain that the Mercedes' porpoising was not limited to the straights. The Saudi circuit is non-stop very fast corners through which the cars may porpoise. Quite a scary prospect.
Mclaren could be interesting, they had different problems from the others in Bahrain, perhaps problems which could have partially addressed in the couple of weeks since they were first identified? I feel that Mclaren will suddenly get the car working again and will leap forward into the 3rd / 4th fastest slot where they were expected to be.
Will Red Bull Honda have to detune the PUs in some way to avoid a repeat of the Gasly failure? will the fuel pump issue affect their performance or reliability again? Do Ferrari, Mercedes and Alpine have the ability to turn theirs up?
I am sure it'll still be Ferrari and Red Bull out in front, but Red Bull were close enough that the order may flip flop from one circuit to the next?
With Jeddah's long straights, Red Bull's straight line speed should put them closer to Ferarri here, but the big question is whether or not they can run the same engine mode as last week after the double (or technically triple) DNF's in Bahrain.
A week is a short turnaround but teams may also set their cars up differently based on the data they gathered in Bahrain, so very much all to play for. Could be a tough weekend for the Mercedes-powered teams.
A week is a short turnaround but teams may also set their cars up differently based on the data they gathered in Bahrain, so very much all to play for. Could be a tough weekend for the Mercedes-powered teams.
McAndy said:
Piginapoke said:
I've set up a separate thread for the poll, to save it cluttering up the page. Very happy to put it back in the thread next time if that works better for us 
Quick! Put up a poll to see where people would prefer to have the poll! 
NGK210 said:
So, all you Neweys, Barnards and Nunns, please explain:
If the Merc is bottoming “everywhere” (Russell), is it because its GE is generating too much downforce but to run with suspension stiff enough to stop the porpoising would make the car ‘solid’? Or is it something else?
Ta
That's the basics of it yep. Stiffer suspension is not the only thing they can do to sort the porpoising though. It's an obvious thing and there is a compromise to be struck between the two factors. They can also keep some of the porpoising, so long as it's not enough to damage the car or driver, then it could well be that the optimum solution is to only fix it to a point, if fixing it 100% requires a reduction of performance elsewhere.If the Merc is bottoming “everywhere” (Russell), is it because its GE is generating too much downforce but to run with suspension stiff enough to stop the porpoising would make the car ‘solid’? Or is it something else?
Ta
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