Jeddah – A Miracle in Saudi
Posted on April 18, 2025 Tags: Formula One
F1 Points at a Premium
Reprieve for Jack Doohan?
YUKI TSUNODA IS HARDLY DRIVING THE LIGHTS OUT in the second RB21, but he’s poised at the superb Jeddah Corniche this weekend to increase his tally of F1 points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after earning faint praise from Red Bull’s Christian Horner.
It’s fair to say that neither of the Red Bull cars has really performed up to expectations in 2025. Although Max Verstappen’s win at Suzuka was outstanding.
But at the very least, Yuki has achieved a reasonable foothold – his the first Q2 appearance and by the first Q3 showing – when he qualified 10th in Bahrain and then, a day later, his first points.
We must remember the enormous value of a single race point. I’ve never seen an actual value published, but it’s safe to say each point can be worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for a team.
And that is US dollars!
It does, of course, depend on a team’s final ranking in the all-important Constructors’ Championship and the prize money distribution.
The higher a team ranks at year’s end, the larger their share of the Formula 1 prize fund, which we know is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Yuki drove pretty well” at Bahrain
At Bahrain last up, the four-time world champion struggled all weekend with brake dramas and finished a disappointing – by his standards – P6. But there was a breakthrough on the other side of the garage.
By the same measure, Yuki was 10th on the grid and finished ninth at the chequered flag, for those two valuable points.
“I thought actually Yuki had a very solid weekend, he qualified in the top 10, finished in the points, he drove pretty well. He was only 12 or 14 seconds behind his team-mate so I thought Yuki’s race was actually reasonable.” Christian Horner
That may not seem much, but Yuki had a big smile on his dial, as they were the first points scored by the second RB21 this season!
And don’t forget, Max has won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix twice – in 2022 and 2024. He has never finished off the podium.
Because it’s difficult to imagine that sooner rather than later, Red Bull won’t get its act together.
Liam needs to lift his game a few notches
Meanwhile, Kiwi Liam Lawson – the young guy spectacularly demoted to Yuki’s Racing Bulls’ seat – continues to struggle against his relatively new teammate Isack Hadjar, who now races alongside him at Racing Bulls.
Isack, the 20-year-old French driver, is a promising talent who has been making waves in his rookie season. But Liam’s relatively tiny nation is renowned for battling above its weight and that is a factor that could hang heavily on his young shoulders.
(As an avid Rugby fan, I shudder any time I hear about the All Blacks and have long dreaded upcoming Bledislow Cup matches).
However, I have no doubt Liam’s myriad supporters back home are right behind him. Nor do I doubt the 23-year-old’s big heart.
But this is a sport whose masters have more recently demonstrated that consistency is a prime ingredient for success.
Let’s hope Liam (pictured right) can get back to the form that elevated him in the first place. Because the spectre of Red Bull Adviser Helmut Marko is always nearby, hovering!
And that’s a spooky thought.
A Reprieve for Jack Doohan
Good news for 22-year-old Aussie Jack Doohan this week with reports from Europe that his F1 seat with Alpine is safe – until at least the summer break.
The 22-year-old struggling Australian has been given a “grace period” until the summer, according to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, telling its subscribers Jack future is no longer under immediate threat.
All the while fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri is moving ever closer with every event to his long-held dream of becoming his country’s next F1 World Champion.
Jedda Corniche up there with the quickest tracks
The 6.174km Jeddah Corniche Circuit is one of the fastest of the season with drivers spending around 80% of the lap with the accelerator buried to the floor.
And that’s despite the track is fairly twisty and boasts a record number of corners – 27 in fact, through the streets of the Saudi city – with 16 to the left and 11 to the right.
The average speed around the six-click circuit is 252 km/h (157 mph), making it one of the quickest street circuits in the sport.
During competitive sessions, top speeds exceeding 300 km/h (186 mph) have been recorded. The circuit’s long straights and sweeping corners contribute to these high velocities, creating a thrilling spectacle for both drivers and fans.
Many of those corners are taken at medium or high speed.
Turn 27 at Jedda Corniche
But despite three DRS zones, overtaking is not that straightforward because of the lack of any heavy braking points.
The track surface is not very abrasive, with an average level of roughness, but Pirelli warns the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are considerable, although not at the level of Suzuka or Barcelona.
Graining is possible here, especially in the first free practice sessions as the track is usually very dirty to start with, as it’s very rarely used for motor racing.
Fastest recorded F1 speed – 372+km/h
The fastest recorded speed in an official Formula 1 session was 372.5 km/h (231.4 mph), set by Valtteri Bottas during the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix, At the time, he was driving for Williams F1 Team in their FW38 challenger. And so, the likeable Fin became the first F1 driver to break the 370 km/h barrier in a Grand Prix. And no surprise that the 35-year-old spends quite a lot of time in Australia, as his partner is South Australian professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.
But it’s curious that no one has broken Valtteri’s record in nearly 10 years.
Saudi Arabia – most recent country to join F1
Teams are hanging out for a mini break as the first triple-header of the 2025 season comes to an end at Jeddah, on the Saudi Arabian shores of the Red Sea.
The modern city of nearly six million is a major commercial centre and cultural hub, known for its modern waterfront and the historic Al-Balad district.
It also is regarded as the port of entry for millions of pilgrims heading for the annual trek to Mecca.
Debuting in December 2021, Saudi Arabia is the most recent country to join the list of nations that have hosted a Grand Prix in the 75-year history of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Their first event appeared on the calendar in December, with the next three events taking place in March.
This year it’s in April, when temperature, wind and humidity levels are similar to Saudi’s summer, which undoubtedly will impact on this weekend’s track action.
Softer Approach for Jeddah
The choice of compounds for the first four F1 races of this season were the same as last year’s, but for Jeddah Pirelli has taken a softer step, with the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft for Jeddah.
Because that is right in line with the aim – shared with the FIA, F1 and the teams – to spice up events by creating more strategy choices for the race, with more exciting and unpredictable racing.
It’ll be fascinating to see if it achieves just that!
In the four previous Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the one-stop has always dominated, both in terms of its effectiveness and team preference, even when a Safety Car mixed things up a bit more.
In 2024 only our mate Valtteri Bottas opted to pit twice, all the others going for the one-stop – with most starting on the C3 (Medium), switching to the C2 (Hard) for the second stint.
F1 Race Schedule – Round 5
PERTH WA TIMES
SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
Jeddah Corniche Circuit 18 – 21 April
P1 Friday 18th April 21:30
P2 Saturday 19th April 01:00
P3 Saturday 19th April 21:30
QUALIFYING
Sunday 20th April 01:00
RACE
Monday 21st April 01:00
NEXT EVENT
Miami Grand Prix
Miami International Autodrome 03-05 May
EDITED by AC
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