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Max Verstappen's Saudi Arabian GP Quali Issue Might Gift Fernando Alonso Another Podium

As a new season of Formula 1 starts to take shape, rivalries remain largely unchanged, at least toward the top of the leaderboard. Red Bull is still the favorite, despite being hit with penalties for its budget cap transgressions, while Ferrari is playing catch-up.
Max Verstappen at F1 Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying 10 photos
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
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As is customary for every season start, hopes were high for the Italian racing outfit. And this season, there were reasons for the fans to expect more from Ferrari. Engine reliability problems were supposed to be a thing of the past, while Frederic Vasseur’s arrival was believed to be a solution for the team’s management and strategy issues.

But Ferrari managed to prove the fans wrong right off the bat, with Charles Leclerc retiring from the first race. Adding insult to injury, the Monegasque driver will also suffer a 10-place grid penalty in the Saudi Arabia GP due to already taking his third Control Electronics unit after two failures in the first race weekend.

This meant that Leclerc was staring down the barrel of a tremendously difficult challenge in Jeddah and the prospect of Max Verstappen building up a huge lead. But Formula 1 is nothing if not dramatic, as the Dutch driver suffered a mechanical driveshaft failure in the second qualifying session and did not set a time.

The result of that fiasco is that he will start the race toward the back of the grid, in 15th place, even lower than Leclerc’s 12th spot. It would seem that the two drivers simply cannot stay away from each other.

And it’s the fans who benefit the most from such mishaps, as we are likely to see the pair battle it out while making their way up the field. Well, the fans and Fernando Alonso, who managed to qualify third and start on the front row following Leclerc’s grid penalty. And if the Spaniard’s past is anything to go by, he will fight hard to get yet another podium.

F1 Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying
Photo: YouTube / Formula 1
Or at least that is what we hope to see, as the Saudi Arabia GP takes place on a street circuit. While it’s not as narrow and twisty as Monaco, overtakes are still not going to be easy, despite the three DRS zones.

The best bet for both Verstappen and Leclerc is probably trying to make up as many positions as humanly possible in the first couple of laps before DRS gets engaged. Once that happens, a DRS train could form, and the layout of the track doesn’t exactly make fly-by overtakes feasible.

Most of the circuit can be driven at full throttle or at least close to full. There are maybe six or seven turns that require hard braking, and the first DRS zone is placed right over a sequence of high-speed kinks, where overtaking is an absolute no-go.

Most of the action is likely to happen in the breaking zone just before turn one, after gathering momentum through the last turn and third DRS zone. The only other area that looks somewhat ripe for overtaking is the final turn, after the second DRS zone.

Even so, that would require as much bravery and skill as it does a gap in car performance. A long DRS curve leads into the final turn, making a fly-by overtake unlikely. That only leaves the option of braking late and dive-bombing the opponent.

The conclusion is that these setbacks faced by the two championship favorites will provide an interesting race. Both Max and Charles are likely to drive the wheels off their cars and give the fans a show in the hope to make up as many positions as they can.

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About the author: Bogdan Bebeselea
Bogdan Bebeselea profile photo

As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited.
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