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The F1 circus reaches its next stop at the Saudi Arabian GP a week after the Bahrain GP. The first race of the season was sensational for teams like Ferrari, who kickstarted the season with maximum points added to their tally. Mercedes lucked into a fortuitous podium finish.
However, the race was not as good for everyone and these teams will be heading to Saudi Arabia with a singular motive of grabbing a good result. In this piece, let's have a look at some of the teams that will be desperate for a good result in the Saudi Arabian GP.
Teams desperate for a strong result in the Saudi Arabian GP
#1 Red Bull
The Bahrain GP was, in the words of Christian Horner was "the worst nightmare" for Red Bull. The domino effect that started with Pierre Gasly's car going up in flames ended with both the Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retiring from the race.
It's still not clear what was the reason behind the failure of all three cars yet, but if there is one thing that is clear, Red Bull is already on the backfoot in the championship.
Max Verstappen trails Charles Leclerc by 26 points while Red Bull trail Ferrari by 44 points. At the Saudi Arabian GP, Red Bull will be desperate for a turnaround as it tries to avoid handing an early advantage to Ferrari.
#2 McLaren
McLaren was on average the fourth fastest car in F1 last season. This year, things haven't looked as good as the latest challenger from Woking is surprisingly slow. McLaren started the season well at Barcelona and were touted to be a quick car but as soon as the F1 circus reached Bahrain, the team was on the back foot.
It started with brake overheating issues in the first Test in Bahrain and since then the team has not been able to bounce back. Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in Q1 in Bahrain.
The team has just recently raked in significant sponsorship by partnering with Google and will need to show the results on track at the Saudi Arabian GP to justify the trust of its new partners.
#3 Aston Martin
The Aston Martin experiment seems to be going from bad to worse and if the grapevine (from Otmar Szaufner himself) is to be believed then the hands-on approach by Lawrence Stroll is proving to be detrimental to the team's growth.
The team regressed last season and suffered the most due to regulation changes around the floor. However, this season was supposed to be where the team jumped to the front of the midfield. Early impressions don't point towards that happening as the car appears to have the speed of a backmarker rather than a midfielder.
Sebastian Vettel will in all likelihood make a return from Covid-19 at the Saudi Arabian GP and the team will be hoping that his return and the different layout of the Saudi Arabian GP helps the team in improve their season.
