2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Race 2 of 24 in the 2024 Formula One World Championship
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	The circuit layout
Race details
Date	9 March 2024
Official name	Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
Location	Jeddah Corniche Circuit; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Course	Street Circuit
Course length	6.174 km (3.836 miles)
Distance	50 laps, 308.450 km (191.662 miles)
Weather	Clear
Pole position
Driver	Max Verstappen;
Time	1:27.472
Fastest lap
Driver	Charles Leclerc
Time	1:31.632 on lap 50
Podium
First	Max Verstappen;
Second	Sergio Pérez;
Third	Charles Leclerc;
	Lap leaders ;

The 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024) was a Formula One motor race held on 9 March 2024 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The race was the second round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

Max Verstappen won the race from pole position, taking his 100th podium, his ninth victory in a row, and his second victory of the season. This race saw the Grand Prix debut of Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman, who substituted for Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari. Bearman finished in seventh place scoring his first points in Formula One.

Background

The event was held across 7–9 March. It was the second round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the fourth running of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.^[2]

The Grand Prix was scheduled for a Saturday to accommodate Ramadan, which began on 10 March.^[3]

Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 26 points, 8 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez in second, and 11 from Carlos Sainz Jr. in third. Red Bull Racing led the Constructors' Championship over Ferrari by 17 points, and Mercedes by 28 points.^[4]

Entrants

Debutant Oliver Bearman (left) stood in for Carlos Sainz Jr. (right) at Ferrari.

The drivers and teams were initially the same as the season entry list.^[5] However, Ferrari reserve and Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz Jr. starting from the third free practice session, after Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis and withdrew from the event to undergo surgery.^[6] Bearman made his Formula One debut.^[7]

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (the middle three in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.^[8]

Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 7 March 2024, at 16:30 local time (UTC+3), and was topped by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ahead of Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez.^[9]^[5] The second free practice session was held on the same day and was scheduled at 20:00 local time, but was delayed by ten minutes as bolts were checked on drain covers in the pit lane.^[10] The session was topped by Alonso ahead of George Russell of Mercedes and Verstappen.^[11] The third free practice session was held on 8 March 2024, at 16:30 local time, and was topped by Verstappen ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Verstappen's teammate Pérez. The session was red-flagged after Sauber's Zhou Guanyu lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers, but was resumed after necessary repairs to the barriers were carried out.^[12]

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on 8 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3).^[1]

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	Final grid
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT	1:28.171	1:28.033	1:27.472	1
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:28.318	1:28.112	1:27.791	2
3	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT	1:28.638	1:28.467	1:27.807	3
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	1:28.706	1:28.122	1:27.846	4
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1:28.755	1:28.343	1:28.089	5
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:28.805	1:28.479	1:28.132	6
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:28.749	1:28.448	1:28.316	7
8	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.994	1:28.606	1:28.460	8
9	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB-Honda RBPT	1:28.988	1:28.564	1:28.547	9
10	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	1:28.250	1:28.578	1:28.572	10
11	38	Oliver Bearman	Ferrari	1:28.984	1:28.642	N/A	11
12	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	1:29.107	1:28.980	N/A	12
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1:29.069	1:29.020	N/A	13
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB-Honda RBPT	1:29.065	1:29.025	N/A	14
15	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	1:29.055	No time	N/A	15
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber-Ferrari	1:29.179	N/A	N/A	16
17	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	1:29.475	N/A	N/A	17
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	1:29.479	N/A	N/A	18
19	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	1:29.526	N/A	N/A	19
107% time: 1:34.342
—	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber-Ferrari	No time	N/A	N/A	20¹
Source:^[13]^[14]

Notes

^1 – Zhou Guanyu failed to set a time during qualifying. He was permitted to race at the stewards' discretion.^[14]

Race

The race was held on 9 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 50 laps.^[1]

Race report

At the starting grid, Norris appeared to jump the start but the stewards did not issue any penalty as the FIA's standardised grid box transponder did not detect an infringement. The sporting regulations require these transponders to detect an infringement for a penalty to be issued.^[15] There were two retirements. On the opening lap, Pierre Gasly reported gearbox issues which forced him to retire. Lance Stroll retired on lap 7 due to a crash which brought out a safety car.^[16] Kevin Magnussen of Haas was given a 20-second time penalty during the race. Knowing that he was unlikely to finish in the points, the team ordered him to focus on defence during the wide parts of the circuit, and drive as slowly as possible in the narrow parts of the circuit while overtaking is most difficult. With Magnussen backing up the drivers behind, Nico Hülkenberg successfully finished tenth and earned a point for the team.^[17]

Polesitter Max Verstappen won the race ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez, marking a second straight 1–2 for Red Bull Racing, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in third. This marked Verstappen's 100th career podium.^[18]^[16] McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished fourth with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in fifth. Mercedes' George Russell finished sixth with Ferrari debutant Oliver Bearman in seventh. They were followed by Lando Norris, who briefly led the Grand Prix, in eighth, and Lewis Hamilton in ninth, after both drivers attempted an alternate tyre strategy. Nico Hülkenberg claimed the final point in tenth, clinching his and Haas's first point of the season.^[16]

Race classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT	50	1:20:43.273	1	25
2	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT	50	+13.643¹	3	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	50	+18.639	2	16²
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	50	+32.007	5	12
5	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	50	+35.759	4	10
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	50	+39.936	7	8
7	38	Oliver Bearman	Ferrari	50	+42.679	11	6
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	50	+45.708	6	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	50	+47.391	8	2
10	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Haas-Ferrari	50	+1:16.996	15	1
11	23	Alexander Albon	Williams-Mercedes	50	+1:28.354	12
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	50	+1:45.737³	13
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine-Renault	49	+1 lap	17
14	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams-Mercedes	49	+1 lap	19
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB-Honda RBPT	49	+1 lap⁴	9
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB-Honda RBPT	49	+1 lap	14
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber-Ferrari	49	+1 lap	16
18	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber-Ferrari	49	+1 lap	20
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes	5	Accident	10
Ret	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Renault	1	Gearbox	18
Fastest lap: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:31.632 (lap 50)
Source:^[14]^[19]^[20]^[21]