Every driver is different and every driver excels in different conditions. For example, the current Formula 1 grid has true street fighters, while others feel great on extremely smooth asphalt, for example. What about the form of riders on the track we travel to next weekend? In the form check we see who is good at the circuit that is on the agenda. The fastest street circuit of the Formula 1 calendar is scheduled for the second Grand Prix of the season.
The Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia is scheduled for the third season in a row in Formula 1. That means that not enough races have been held in the country to do a form check, but since it is the second race of the year this statistic will be taken into account for the ranking. That means that some drivers will be left out. In addition to this season’s rookies, we also do not see Zhou Guanyu in this form check.
Verstappen is in good shape after the opening race
|
driver |
Points total second GP of the year 2020-2022 |
DNFs second GP of the year 2020-2022 |
|
1. Max Verstappen |
65 |
0 |
|
2.Lewis Hamilton |
45 |
0 |
|
3.Charles Leclerc |
31 |
0 |
|
3. Lando Norris |
31 |
0 |
|
5.Carlos Sainz |
28 |
0 |
|
6. Sergio Perez |
20 |
0 |
|
7.Valtteri Bottas |
18 |
2 |
|
8. Alexander Albon* |
12 |
1 |
|
9.George Russell |
10 |
1 |
|
9. Esteban Ocon |
10 |
1 |
|
9.Pierre Gasly |
10 |
0 |
|
9.Lance Stroll |
10 |
0 |
|
13. Kevin Magnussen* |
2 |
0 |
|
14.Fernando Alonso* |
1 |
1 |
|
15.Yuki Tsunoda* |
0 |
1 |
* Drivers with an asterisk behind their name have competed in two of the most recent three editions.
Max Verstappen often performs excellently after the opening races in the Formula 1 season. In the past two years, the Red Bull Racing driver took victory every time, while in 2020 he had to leave this, and also second place, to the Mercedes men. Lewis Hamilton managed to win the Styrian Grand Prix in the season marked by the pandemic and Valtteri Bottas thus took P2. Verstappen, who was allowed to start from the front row, took the last place on the podium.
In the years that followed, the Dutchman took the full points. In 2021, Verstappen was the strongest at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after having a touch with Hamilton in the first corner. That was the starting signal for a true rivalry that was decided in Verstappen’s favor in the last race. On the wet track in Imola, no one could match Verstappen’s speed and the Red Bull driver even seemed to be able to make a big gap after Hamilton had problems due to the changing conditions. The Mercedes driver managed to find his way to P2, while Lando Norris took the last place on the podium.
Last season it was crucial for the two-time world champion to get a good result in the second race of the year, which was also the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. Verstappen dropped out in the first race and so he had to hit back at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. That was not entirely without problems, as the Red Bull driver had to start from fourth place. In the final stages of the race, Verstappen had to chase Charles Leclerc. After a hard fight and a tactical joust over the DRS, the Dutchman took the Ferrari driver to take his first of fifteen victories of that season.
Last GP Saudi Arabia full of failures
The last Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not only characterized by the hard fight between Verstappen and Leclerc. A large part of the drivers did not reach the finish line. It started on Saturday when Mick Schumacher had a big crash and the Haas team didn’t want to risk another hard blow on Sunday. It was also over for Yuki Tsunoda before the race had even started. Before the race, a technical problem with the AlphaTauri car was discovered, which prevented the Japanese from appearing at the start.
Things didn’t go much better for the drivers during the race either. First it was Nicholas Latifi who had to abandon his race early. However, that was his own fault, because he crashed into the wall in the last corner. Things went wrong technically for Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas. At the end of the race, Alexander Albon had to abandon his Grand Prix after being tapped by Lance Stroll. The Aston Martin driver was able to continue his race.
Pérez very unlucky in Jeddah
Latifi’s crash during last season’s edition was especially bad for Sergio Pérez. The Mexican was in the lead before the incident, but decided to dive in early for his first pit stop. Right after that, Latifi shot into the wall, meaning that Leclerc and Verstappen could benefit from a short pit stop due to the deployment of the safety car. As a result, Pérez lost the race lead and also the chance of victory, after taking pole position for the first time in his Formula 1 career on Saturday.
