2023 Formula 1 at Saudi Arabia: How to watch, stream, preview, TV info for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

It’s only the second race of the 2023 F1 season, but it feels like if things don’t get better for Mercedes-AMG F1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it’s going to be a long, long season for the Silver Stars. For the second year in a row, they have missed their car a lot to start the season. With Red Bull Racing and Ferrari picking up pretty much where they left off at the end of 2022 and Aston Martin looking significantly better, Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will have their fingers crossed over the changes they are implementing in Jeddah. being relevant and visible is what they need to start moving forward on the grid rather than backward.

Hamilton was particularly critical of the team after the opening of the season in Bahrain, and said on the BBC:checkered flag“Podcast about how it was ignored during the development of the 2023 car due to the momentary reaction to the discovery.

“I mean, looking back, I think it wasn’t necessarily the best choice of words,” admitted the seven-time F1 world champion. formula1.com. “I still have 100% faith in this team, this is my family and I have been here for a long time, so I do not plan to leave anywhere. … The proof is in the pudding, we’ve seen where performance is and how people extract performance. Now we have to start making some bold decisions, some big steps to close the gap with these guys. “

These guysin this case, most likely, we mean Red Bull and Ferrari, but in particular the two-time world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez.

“I mean they will most likely run away with him this year unless Ferrari can stop them. Let’s wait and see,” Hamilton said. “We hope we can close the gap. At this point, it will probably be too late in terms of the title challenge, but hopefully we will still be able to draw attention to ourselves.”

How to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia

• Date of: Sunday, March 19
• Location: 3.87 miles (6.175 km) Turn 27 Jeddah Corniche – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Time: 12:55 pm ET
• TV: ESPN, ESPN+
• Broadcast: fuboTV (try for free)

What to expect

Pirelli is expected to introduce tire compounds similar to those we saw in Bahrain, so the strategy could be similar to the Bahrain Grand Prix where the leaders will choose a two-stop strategy, but the possibility of a three-stop is not ruled out.

There will again be three DRS zones (the first starts at turn 19 and ends at turn 22, the second just before turn 25 and ends at turn 27, and the third just after the hairpin at turn 27 just before turn to turn). 1).

Yes, there are 27 turns in Jeddah, but this circuit is considered relatively high speed due to the series of left and right turns, especially from the exit of turn 2 to turn 12.

Around the paddock

Aston Martin: Lance Stroll told formula1.com that he is still “not 100 percent”, but he has definitely improved from how he felt before the race in Bahrain.

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc is facing a 10x penalty on the grid in Saudi Arabia due to the fact that the Scuderia was forced to install a new power unit with electronics (another failed in Bahrain, leading to Leclerc’s DNF), and although the Monegasque admitted that this was not the best way to start the season, the team just has to deal with it.

“We’re starting on the back foot this weekend, but our goal is to try and do something special,” Leclerc said. formula1.com. “I love the challenge of starting a little on the back foot and trying to do something special and get back to the front as quickly as possible.”

McLaren: If Mercedes and Ferrari are concerned about how they started 2023, McLaren must be in full blown crisis mode, right? A disastrous pre-season testing period led to a troubled race in Bahrain and left Oscar Piastri with the DNF and Lando Norris made six pit stops en route to a memorable finish. Norris brushed aside comments that the team is in crisis and is confident they can catch up with Alfa Romeo and some other players for lower places on the grid.