Why Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso have more at stake than it seems in Saudi Arabia

Carlos Sainz and Ferrari, or the need for redemption. Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, the confirmation of that first pitch given at the beginning of the championship. He Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will decide if both can regularly aspire to the podium this season. Beat Red Bull, for now, better leave it suspended. The Jeddah circuit will act as a crucial anvil for both.

the second generation wing car It leaves the only track where they have rolled in 2023, since Shakir hosted the preseason and the opening event. However, Jeddah throws totally opposite demands to that one. Taking Red Bull’s dominance for granted, the SF23 needs to raise hopes at Ferrari to alleviate the turbulent atmosphere that already exists around the Italian team. On the contrary, If the AM23 repeats its electrifying debut this weekend, the season for Fernando Alonso could reach unsuspected heights.

Like night and day

Each single-seater exhibits a personality that shines or suffers depending on the characteristics of the track, asphalt, and environmental conditions. The pilot will dream of a stable and predictable machine, under braking, entering, mid-corner and exit, and all kinds of turns. In addition to an engine power that makes life easier at top speed and elasticity in power delivery. Few single-seaters usually gather such a wide range of virtues. Given the performance of Red Bull in 2022 and the beginning of this season, the RB19 is the one that is closest to the ideal archetype today.

Shakir’s track features numerous low-speed corners, stop and goof demanding braking with delivery of traction at the exit of the curve, a layout where mechanical grip plays a crucial role. It houses the most abrasive asphalt in the championship, which puts a lot of stress on the rear tire. Shakir was the grave for W14, and it was a serious wake-up call for Ferrari’s aspirations to stand up in 2023. Nobody expected such a surprise from Aston Martin, but while the rivals maintained a continuous line, the AM23 is practically virgin and, as Alonso warned, he needs to go through the sieve of paths different from Shakir’s.

He Jeddah Corniche reverse their features. It is the fastest urban route on the calendar, with most of the medium and high-speed corners supporting and quickly changing direction, with long straights where engine power and elasticity play a crucial role. The mechanical grip gives way to the aerodynamic grip, and its smooth asphalt with little degradation will be a relief for some. Here, it is the front axle that suffers the most, also unlike Shakir. For 2023 some curves have been modified to increase visibility, factor who should not alter the features of the Jeddah Circuit. In short, the first two circuits of the season are night and day.

An oxygen balloon?

In Shakir, Ferrari succumbed to degradation in the race, exasperated by the demands of its asphalt. Frederic Vasseur justified the performance alleging the lack of success with the set up suitable for this track. That is, lack of aim more than defective weapon. Such justification is surprising after six days (with the preseason) on the same track, which invites one to fear congenital problems of the SF23. But Jeddah should come to Ferrari’s aid. It will be missing when the media hornet’s nest in Italy has already been revolutionized after only one race.

“The track in Jeddah is very different. The limitation is not so much in the rear, so we are sure that it will be different compared to other circuits”, advances Carlos Sainz for this coming weekend. “Bahrain is the most extreme of the year in degradation, so we only have one example.” It would be a bad omen for Ferrari if performance were to improve on a patronizing track, and not thanks to the versatility of the SF23, since Sainz hinted that his degradation is similar to that of his previous predecessor. If true, bad news for the rest of the year.

In aid of Ferrari in Jeddah a more muscular power unit would also arrive in 2023 and highly elastic. Shakir’s qualifiers confirmed that performance. Both Leclerc and Sainz led in the top speed references, so the fast nature of the Saudi layout will allow the Italian car to perform with singular joy. The higher or lower level of downforce influences top speeds, but Marko Helmut He blessed the Italian engine when he considered it the most powerful of the lot based on the data held by Red Bull. Therefore, due to less degradation and tire demand, due to speed, the SF23 should give Sainz and Leclerc, also Vasseur, a ball of oxygen. Otherwise, the foundations in Maranello will begin to shake.

The unknowns of the AMR23

Will Aston Martin clear up the great unknown of its possible rise to the aristocracy of Formula 1 in 2023? RB19 and AM23 offered the best degradation in Shakir, and there should be no reason to miss it in Jeddah. The first is already a proven machine, not so much the second yet. The British car, very predictable, exhibited great balance when entering corners and in traction, as confirmed by Alonso’s duels with the two Mercedes and Sainz. In Jeddah, its efficiency will be put to the test, that is, the balance between aerodynamic load and drag, (advance resistance), more decisive than in Shakir. It remains to contrast the performance of the AMR23 on a track front limitedthat tests the major or minor understeer and degradation of the front tires. In these and other sections, Aston Martin will continue to discover the character of its new creature.

However, AM23 could also be in for a surprise in Jeddah. A single-seater enjoys low degradation, sometimes at the cost of a slower temperature gain in the tyre. Mike Krack’s words and his fears about it when Alonso was lapping behind the Mercedes in the early stages of the race were a wake-up call, as the tires didn’t click ‘with the temperature’ quickly.

On less abrasive asphalt and with less ability to generate energy in the tire due to the configuration of its curves will be a performance factor to contrast, and perhaps a condition of performance in the qualifiers. A worse starting position compared to Shakir could be a handicap for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll and his podium options, since in Jeddah it is not easy to overtake. Because if Aston Martin repeated cajón in Jeddah, with the broad arc of evolution that Dan Fallows and Fernando Alonso attributed to AM23 in 2023, watch out for the rest of the season. And Jeddah will give more clues about it.

Carlos Sainz and Ferrari, or the need for redemption. Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, the confirmation of that first pitch given at the beginning of the championship. He Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will decide if both can regularly aspire to the podium this season. Beat Red Bull, for now, better leave it suspended. The Jeddah circuit will act as a crucial anvil for both.