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The first day of running in the F1 Saudi Arabian GP is done and dusted, and we do have a picture forming of what we can expect from the weekend. The Jeddah Corniche circuit tends to ramp up with more and more running, and by the time the first day of running ended, we had Lando Norris on top of the timesheets.
For reference, the laptime from the driver was around half a second faster than the fastest time in the F1 Saudi Arabian GP FP2 last season. The cars have quite clearly gotten quicker, but it also appears that the softer tire has not really led to a more stressful time for the teams in terms of degradation management.
The three long DRS zones do make things interesting for race day, but as we have seen in the last two editions, the cars are just generating too much turbulence, which makes it hard to keep up in the first sector. As a result, pulling off overtakes becomes tougher.
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As a consequence, qualifying is going to be very important, as overtaking might not be the easiest around this track. With that being said, what can we expect from the F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying? Let's take a look.
#5 Haas might struggle in the fast-speed sections
Haas comes into the F1 Saudi Arabian GP race weekend on the back of a strong run and being fifth in the championship. With that being said, the car has an inherent weakness in the fast speed sections, and it is exposed at this track.
The team would be looking to make a few adjustments and try to put a better solution in place. Unfortunately, that looks unlikely, and we might see the team struggle this time around, and a Q1 exit could be on the cards for at atleast one of the two drivers.
#4 Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg make it to Q3
It took Carlos Sainz five races, but finally the driver appears to be comfortable with what Williams has to offer. The Spaniard appears to have a better grip on the car's demands, and he should be one of the drivers to keep an eye on this weekend.
The same goes for Nico Hulkenberg, who seems to be nailing some pretty impressive lap times in that Sauber. The German has been consistently in the top 10, and a lot of it is a result of the brilliant top speed that the car appears to possess.
We're backing both the drivers to make it to Q3 for the F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying.
#3 Lewis Hamilton is not making Q2
Lewis Hamilton has never been a big fan of the track, and his record here in the last three years is a testament to that. Even this time around, the driver doesn't seem confident in the car and is losing time everywhere on the track.
Charles Leclerc has often been brilliant at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP, while Lewis Hamilton hasn't. We're expecting the gulf between the two to be biggest this weekend as the 7x F1 world champion still tries to get used to life at Ferrari.
#2 Four different teams in the top five
One thing that has somewhat stood out on Friday was how close the top four teams were in general. McLaren does have some edge over the competition in the first sector but the second and third sectors are where things even out a bit.
When things become this close, we see the benchmark drivers of each respective team stand out. We're going to see Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell make it to the top five and make it four different teams vying for the sharp end of the grid during the F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying.
#1 Lando Norris secures pole position for the F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Just to clarify, the battle for pole position is going to be intense this time around, as the gap between McLaren and the chasing pack is at best around a couple of tenths. That's the kind of gap that could be covered with a great first sector coupled with a well-timed tow.
Full disclosure, it won't come as a surprise if either Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, or George Russell pull off a stunner and secure pole position. Such is the impact of a tow here that a couple of tenths can be gained through it, and hence the timing would matter.
With that being said, we're leaning towards the McLaren duo here. Out of the two, Lando Norris seems to be more comfortable this time around, even though Oscar Piastri has had the edge over him the last two times they were here.
We're backing the British driver to secure pole position for McLaren at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
