Perez’s pole position, Hamilton’s problems and Ferrari worries

The episodic qualifying tests of the Saudi Arabian GP, ​​happily with a happy ending after Mick Schumacher’s serious accident, made for a totally unpredictable scene for the second Formula 1 race of the year at the port of Jeddah.

Let’s see where they were judged and what’s expected for tomorrow’s GP (27/3, 20:00, ERT2, COSMOTE SPORT 5HD, LIVE Sportish).

Perez’s first pole position

Sergio Perez’s first pole position was the result of two parameters. The first was that the unusually low temperatures at Jeddah tonight made it very odd to handle the tires and keep them in the ‘window’ of thermal operation with the soft rubber for a full lap. The Mexican succeeded best.

Ferrari’s Carlos Saint was quicker in Q3 with the soft rubber than the fresh, Mercedes Russell’s George Russell was quicker in Q2 with the medium rubber than the soft (although the latter is 0.6 inches faster on the lap), and Max Ferstappen said: “My first set was awful [ελαστικών] in Q3 like I had a completely different feeling than them. I wasn’t comfortable with the second set and couldn’t pull off the performance I found in Q1 and Q2. “As the tarmac temperature goes down it usually gets better, but I felt the same or worse.”

“Cheko” had no such problem. “It was the lap of my life, I can do 1000 laps and not quite get there. I wasn’t expecting to catch Ferrari in qualifying so it will be an interesting race.”‘ said the Mexican at the end.

The second parameter of Perez’s impressive pole position tonight is more general and was described by RBR Director Christian Horner: “I think this year’s car suits his driving style better, it’s not as unpredictable as last year.”

Mick Schumacher’s serious accident

Fortunately, in one of the most severe and frightening accidents since Romain Grozan, the minutes of silence on Haas radio communications with Mick Schumacher were due to the destruction of the communications system during the collision. The young German was conscious and was only taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The good thing was that his 280 km/h impact with the wall was not head-on, as the non-deformation of the muzzle could have transmitted all the shockingly abrupt deceleration to his body. The good thing is that this year’s regulations required the rear of the car to be detached from the chassis to reduce the impact forces exerted on the driver. It was another beneficial security measure.

The big problem has to do with the curves. These are high and only serve to keep drivers from going off the track. Schumacher didn’t lose control of Haas for no reason – he lost it trying to avoid the curbs. With modern FIA technology, it’s probably safer for drivers to monitor their lane transitions without exposing them to corners that make a tight road course between dangerous barriers so dangerous.

Hamilton exit in Q1

From last year’s zenith, Lewis Hamilton found himself at a low point after a race weekend and a half after being excluded from the first leg of qualifying for purely sporting reasons. Indeed, the BBC reports that he had a similar setup with young George Russell, who completed his 4th year in Q1 with the other Mercedes W13.

Of course, this can be explained by the fact that Hamilton has a completely different style than Russell, and the same arrangements don’t say much. Most of the time Lewis needs a good and controlled back, quite obedient to his overspeed turns in the corner, but tonight he said that “Something is definitely wrong, I don’t know what it is, but I didn’t feel the back of the car at all, it was so loose.”

Mercedes has tried in all free trials to lower the rear wing (since all teams now have newer, smaller, lower-winged rear wings) and find a good compromise for two distinct needs: the lift needed to make the jumps onto the fast corners 5-9 (porpoises) while limiting drag. He failed to do so, despite chief engineer Andrew Sovlin’s optimism yesterday, and Hamilton admitted “we went the wrong way with the precautions”.

Russell’s superior speed with the middle eraser is at least a testament to this: a problematic car balance. But Hamilton lost 7 tenths of a second to Russell on just the first lane of the track and that can only be down to tires that never worked and problematic settings – so much so that tonight Hamilton and Mercedes are thinking of breaching the farm park to close them switch, although they will start in the pits tomorrow.

The downside of Ferrari for the race

The Scuderia have proved to Bahrain that their pace in the race is excellent, as good as their one-lap speed – but they have a big problem in Jeddah. It doesn’t have enough data, at least as much as the RBR, for the middle eraser due to the crashes both Leclerc and Sainth had in yesterday’s Q2. Both of their drivers crashed into the guard rails and lost the last 15 minutes, usually the toughest tires tested in laps and in the unique conditions in all free stages corresponding to the race.

The accidents have to do with Leclerc’s approach, which Saint also tried here: to explore the limits of their brand new car, to overcome them. They didn’t pay for this tactic on a regular route like Bahrain, but it came at a price in Jeddah.

So the Scuderia’s data is incomplete, especially as far as the hard tires are concerned, which are gradually becoming more advantageous than the medium tire in the ranks of the race. That’s because of their limited wear and tear, which may allow those who decide to only make two pit stops tomorrow instead of the expected three – at least for those who choose to start with the soft eraser.

How much will Ferrari pay for this delay? It may also depend on the safety car’s entrances onto the track, which is common on street circuits. What is certain is that the RBR had a faster pace on the hard rubber laps during free testing and Perez proved today that he has unlocked the mysteries of the tyres. And surely RBR will be fully backing him for the win if Ferstappen doesn’t go through Ferrari’s first pit stops.