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F1 Team Form: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Red Bull have secured 1-2 finishes in Jeddah in the last two years, while Mercedes are the only other team to have won in Saudi Arabia. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!

RED BULL

WINS: 3, POLES: 3, PODIUMS: 6 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX VERSTAPPEN 1st, PEREZ 2nd

Red Bull have won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in each of the last three seasons, finishing 1-2 in both 2023 and 2024. While Max Verstappen led home the team’s second 1-2 result at the track last year, Sergio Perez finished ahead of his team-mate at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Verstappen recovering from 15th on the grid to secure the team’s fourth podium finish at the track. After the 2024 race, the team hold the record for most podiums here, with six.

Verstappen recorded Red Bull’s first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix victory in 2022, taking the win by just half a second from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Sergio Perez took Red Bull’s first pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022 but failed to convert it into a win as result of being unlucky with race strategy. He had better luck the following season, converting his pole to victory, despite losing the lead to Fernando Alonso at Turn 1. Red Bull have taken pole position at the last three Jeddah races, with Verstappen converting pole to a win in 2024.

Perez is responsible for Red Bull’s only retirement – and only non-top two finish – so far in Saudi Arabia, having crashed out at the first restart in the 2021 race and finished fourth in 2022. Meanwhile, Verstappen is responsible for the team’s only non-Q3 appearance in Saudi Arabia, after being forced out in Q2 in 2023 due to engine issues.

MERCEDES

WINS: 1, POLES: 1, PODIUMS: 2 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: RUSSELL 6th, HAMILTON 9th

Mercedes have scored points with all eight of their entries at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The team was the first to win at the track, with Lewis Hamilton taking victory at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas joined him on the podium, overtaking Alpine’s Esteban Ocon just before the finish line.

While neither Mercedes driver finished on the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in the last three years, both cars have scored points. 2024 was the first time neither Mercedes driver finished in the top five at the track.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

Mercedes locked-out the front row at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but have not qualified on the front row in Jeddah since then.

Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 in 2022, where he could manage no better than the 16th fastest time. It’s the only time a Mercedes driver has failed to reach Q3 so far at this venue.

FERRARI

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 3 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: LECLERC 3rd, BEARMAN 7th

Along with Mercedes, Ferrari are one of two teams yet to see either of their cars finish outside of the points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished seventh and eighth in 2021, both finished on the podium in 2022. Leclerc was just half a second behind race winner Max Verstappen, while Sainz was a further eight seconds behind in third place.

In 2023, both Ferrari drivers scored again. Leclerc recovered from a 12th place start due to an engine penalty to finish seventh, while Sainz finished one position ahead. In 2024, Leclerc secured Ferrari’s third podium finish in Jeddah.

The 2024 weekend was notable for Ferrari, as Sainz was forced to sit out the race after suffering from appendicitis. He was replaced by Ollie Bearman, who finished seventh on his Formula 1 debut.

Bearman’s 11th place in his qualifying debut in 2024 and Sainz’s 15th place in qualifying at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix are the only times that a Ferrari driver has failed to reach Q3 – or failed to qualify in the top five – at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

In 2022, both Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified in the top three. Leclerc recorded the team’s first front row qualification at the track, lapping just 0.025 seconds slower than polesitter Sergio Perez. Leclerc qualified on the front row again in 2023 but was demoted ten positions on the grid due to his penalty. He started from the front row in 2024.

McLAREN

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: PIASTRI 4th, NORRIS 8th

In the first two races at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, McLaren qualified in the top ten only once, but Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement in 2022 was the only time that the team failed to score.

Until 2024, Ricciardo’s fourth place in 2021 was the team’s best result in Jeddah – but that was bettered by Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Lando Norris finished eighth, making 2024 the first Jeddah race since 2021 in which both McLaren drivers scored.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

McLaren failed to score at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing a lowly 15th and 17th, after both of their drivers’ races were compromised on the opening lap. Oscar Piastri started 8th after reaching Q3 for the first time in his career but picked up damage on Lap 1. Norris – who recorded a rare Q1 elimination – then ran over the debris from his team-mate.

Piastri qualified ahead of Norris in 2024, with the duo setting the fifth and sixth fastest lap times in Q3. It was the first time McLaren had seen a car qualify in the top six at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

ASTON MARTIN

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 1 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALONSO 5th, STROLL DNF

Aston Martin have scored only twice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, both times thanks to Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard finished on the podium in 2023 and finished fifth in 2024. Alonso led the opening laps of the 2023 race after starting from the front row and passing polesitter Sergio Perez at the start of the race.

In the first four races in Jeddah, Aston Martin have recorded three non-finishes. Sebastian Vettel retired in 2021 while Lance Stroll retired in both 2023 and 2024, crashing out in the early stages last year.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

Prior to 2023, Aston Martin had made it out of Q1 only once at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Lance Stroll qualifying 15th in 2022. That changed in 2023, with both Stroll and Fernando Alonso qualifying in the top six. Alonso was promoted to the front row after a grid penalty for Charles Leclerc, while Stroll moved up into the top five.

Both drivers reached Q3 again in 2024, with Alonso and Stroll setting the fourth and tenth fastest lap times respectively in the final stage of qualifying.

The team is yet to qualify on the back row at the track. Their worst qualifying result here is 18th – recorded by Stroll in 2021 and Nico Hulkenberg in 2022.

ALPINE

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: OCON 13th, GASLY DNF

Alpine scored in all of the first three races at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with 2024 being the first time they left the track point-less.

Esteban Ocon very nearly brought Alpine a podium finish in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, only to be overtaken by Valtteri Bottas on the finish line. Ocon’s fourth place remains the team’s best result at Jeddah Corniche Circuit to date.

Image: © Andrew Balfour

Until 2023, the Frenchman was the only driver to score for the team at the venue, with Fernando Alonso having finished outside of the points in 2021 and failing to finish with a reliability issue in 2022.

Both Ocon and new team-mate Pierre Gasly scored in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, marking the first double points finish for Alpine at the track.

Until 2024, Fernando Alonso’s 13th place in qualifying at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was the only time that the team has failed to reach Q3 in Jeddah. Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were eliminated in Q1 in 2024.

Ocon supplied Alpine with their best qualifying result in Saudi Arabia to date in 2022, with fifth on the grid.

WILLIAMS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALBON 11th, SARGEANT 14th

Williams are the only team yet to score at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Alex Albon came closest to doing so last year, finishing 11th. Nicholas Latifi’s 12th place finish in 2021 and Logan Sargeant’s 16th place in 2023 and 15th in 2024 are the only times that a Williams driver has crossed the finish line at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

George Russell was caught up in a crash in 2021, Latifi crashed out in 2022, Albon also retired in 2022 following a collision with Lance Stroll (for which the Thai driver received a three-place grid drop at the next event) and Albon was out again in 2023 with brake failure.

George Russell’s 14th place in qualifying for the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Alex Albon’s 12th place in qualifying for the 2024 race are the only times that a Williams driver has progressed past Q1 in Jeddah.

In 2022, Nicholas Latifi recorded the team’s first back row qualification at the track, setting the slowest lap time of the 19 drivers who put in a fast lap. Logan Sargeant became the first Williams driver to qualify 20th at the event in 2023 and he qualified on the back row again in 2024.

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WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: TSUNODA 15th, RICCIARDO 16th

The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was the first Jeddah race in which the Red Bull junior team failed to score, though Yuki Tsunoda came close to doing so finishing in 11th place. The team failed to score once again in 2024.

Both of the team’s points-scoring appearances to date at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have come courtesy of Pierre Gasly, who recorded the Red Bull junior team’s best Saudi Arabian Grand Prix result to date with sixth place in the inaugural race. He finished eighth in 2022, while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda failed to make the start with engine issues.

It was a weekend to forget for Yuki Tsunoda in 2022, with him also failing to set a lap time in qualifying. As a result, he recorded the team’s first non-Q3 appearance at the track. Both Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries were eliminated in Q1 in 2023.

Pierre Gasly set AlphaTauri’s best Jeddah qualifying result to date at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with sixth place. Tsunoda reached Q3 last year, qualifying ninth.

SAUBER

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: BOTTAS 17th, ZHOU GUANYU 18th

Antonio Giovinazzi’s ninth place in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the only time that the former Alfa Romeo team has picked up points at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Valtteri Bottas recorded the first retirement for an Alfa Romeo driver at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022, with every other entry for the team resulting in a finish outside of the points.

Both Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were eliminated in Q1 at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Those were the team’s first Q1 eliminations here. Both drivers were out in Q2 in 2023. In both 2021 and 2022, the team recorded a Q3 appearance and Q2 elimination in Jeddah.

Antonio Giovinazzi qualified tenth in 2021, while Valtteri Bottas bettered the team’s top qualifying performance at the circuit with eighth place at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

HAAS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2024 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: HULKENBERG 10th, MAGNUSSEN 12th

Haas have scored points in each of the last three Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. While Kevin Magnussen was the points scorer in 2022 and 2023, Nico Hulkenberg brought home a point for the American team in 2024. Magnussen’s ninth place in 2022 is the only time a Haas driver has finished above tenth place in Saudi Arabia.

12th places for Hulkenberg in 2023 and Magnussen in 2024 are the only other times that a Haas driver has crossed the finish line at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin crashed out in the inaugural race at the track, while Haas fielded just one car in the 2022 race after Schumacher was ruled out of the race following a heavy crash in qualifying.

In 2022, Kevin Magnussen became the first – and so far only – Haas driver to reach Q3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He qualified in tenth place. Mick Schumacher reached Q2 before suffering the heavy crash which forced him out of Sunday’s race.

At the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, neither Schumacher nor Nikita Mazepin could make it out of Q1. The duo locked-out the back row of the grid. Both Haas drivers were out in Q2 in both 2023 and 2024.

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