Formula 1 will return this week with back-back races as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place this weekend following the Bahrain Grand Prix which concluded on Saturday, March 2. Max Verstappen and Red Bull continued where they left off and began the 2024 season with the same dominance by recording a huge victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
2023 F1 Champion Verstappen was untouchable during the race and went on to win the Bahrain GP with a gap of 22 seconds to his fellow driver Sergio Perez. Verstappen was also the fastest man on the track recording the fastest lap of the race with a lap time of 1:32:608, marking his dominance from the first race itself.
The attention now shifts to the next F1 race in the Gulf region when all 20 cars race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 9. The 6.174 km long circuit is the fastest street circuit in Formula 1 with the track also featuring the most corners on the F1 calendar - 27.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was the surprise pacesetter during the second practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix which concluded on Thursday. Alonso was closely followed by the Mercedes driver George Russell whereas Bahrain Grand Prix winner and 2023 F1 Champion Max Verstappen finished 3rd with a lap time of 1:29.158. The top five were covered by less than half of a second gap with Alonso recording the best time of 1:28.827. The FP1 session had seen Verstappen top the charts with a lap time of 1:29:659, he was closely followed by Fernando Alonso and Sergioz Perez who had set a lap time of 1:29:845 and 1:29:868 respectively.
The final practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place on March 8 just before the qualifying on the same day.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying Date and Time
The all-important qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place on Friday, March 8 at 10:30 PM IST (India).
How to watch Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying in India?
F1 fans in India can watch the live streaming of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the FanCode app and website.
The announcement of a new two-year agreement with FanCode was made on Thursday, February 29 which will see FanCode become the exclusive broadcast partner to Formula 1 in India until the end of the 2025 season.
Here we go! 🏁
March 6, 2024
Bahrain ➡️ Saudi Arabia
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.#Formula1 #F1 #SaudiArabianGP #FanCode pic.twitter.com/Oay7ytGBWIWhy is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taking place on Saturday?
Similar to the opening race of the season - Bahrain GP, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will also take place on Saturday instead of Sunday. The decision to move the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to a Saturday ensures that the race does not clash with the beginning of Ramadan (the holy month of fasting).
Advertisement2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying results
The qualifying for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw Red Bull's Sergio Perez seal the pole position for the main race. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and George Russell of Mercedes made up the top 3 for the main race on Sunday. Charles Leclerc had set the second quickest time but started 10 places back due to his power unit component penalty. Max Verstappen finished outside the top ten after suffering from a driveshaft problem during Q2.
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