Photo by ZU photography on Unsplash 

Track Data: 

First Grand Prix: 2021

Number of Laps: 50

Race Distance: 308.45 km

DRS Zones: 3

Oliver Bearman’s Debut Race: 

Carlos Sainz was hospitalised for appendicitis and was unable to race in the Jeddah Grand Prix. As such, Ferrari reserve driver, 18 year old Oliver Bearman was called in. With only 1 day of Free Practice, there was concern around the Paddock that Bearman didn’t have enough time to get comfortable with the car. 

Bearman ended up qualifying P11, only missing entry to Q3 minimally. During the race, Bearman completed a series of overtakes and finished the race P7, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, 2 drivers who are fighting for constructors championships, making his result all the more impressive. After the race, Bearman commented that he felt ‘destroyed’ as there was no time to make alterations to the seat of the Ferrari, making for an uncomfortable race. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is known to be one of the more challenging races, and Bearman’s talent truly shined as the novice completed a variety of manoeuvres that kept fans on the edge of their seat. Bearman’s father, alongside the spectators, observed with an air of anticipation as the red of the Ferrari blurred the screens. Despite fans supporting different teams, everyone seemed to surround Bearman in support as the 18 year old showed immense promise. 

The Podium: 

Red Bull continued with their unbreakable race abilities, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez ending the races P1 and P2 respectively. With a safety car, a penalty for Perez and a bulletproof strategy, nothing was shaking the team watching from the garage – the RB20 looks just as powerful as its predecessor. It’s very easy to keep mentioning how incredible Verstappen is and how he will go down in the history books next to the greats of motorsport, but a driver is only as good as his team, and as questionable as Red Bull is with consistent scandals, there is most definitely something to be said about the team that has been dominating for the past 2 seasons. 

Ferrari, a team with questionable reliability and drivability, brought it home with Charles Leclerc in P3. With a team known for long pit stops, bad strategy calls, and a knack for chaos, fans were delighted to see not only Leclerc ending the race P3 but Bearman providing the fans with a thrilling show. While many fans were scared to hope for redemption by the team, hope seems to be rising for the team. With Lewis Hamilton driving alongside Charles Leclerc in the 2025 season, if strategy and reliability are on Ferrari’s side, they could prove a dominating force. 

The Rest of the Grid: 

Mercedes: The team that took 8 constructors championships and 9 driver titles, should be a team competing for podium finishes, however, both Russell and Hamilton suffered with grip and reliability as they were left to fight with the McLarens. 

McLaren: Norris and Piasti showed incredible promise all weekend, ending the race in P8 and P4 respectively. Piastri felt that they got the most out of the race and it was executed well, whereas, Norris commented that while it was a good effort, his strategy calls didn’t pay off as expected. Throughout the season so far, McLaren is showing the most promise of being a team fighting for podiums and championships. 

Alpine: The team at Alpine had a difficult race, Ocon finished the race P13 and Gasly had to retire the car mid-race. Team Principle, Bruno Famin commented that “even if we have upgrades coming, we need to understand our lack of performance”. 

RB: Riccardo and Tsunoda were stuck with a lack of pace and struggled throughout the entirety of the race. Riccardo commented that it was “a pretty painful weekend… frustrating, and the race, it was tough. I think coming into it we knew it would be tough, then we had a slow pit stop, and a few laps from the end I hated a bit too much kerb in Turn 1 and had a spin” 

Haas: With Hulkenberg and Magnussen being praised in the media for showing good teamwork, Haas, who are fighting for 6th in the constructor’s championship are looking better than they were in the 2023 season. Hulkenberg and Magnussen ended the race P10 and P12 respectively, with Magnuessum feeling the wrath of 2 penalties during the race. 

Aston Martin: In the 2023 season, Aston Martin with Alonso were fighting the top teams for podium seasons. 2 races into the 2024 season showed no change with Alonso completing the race P5. Unfortunately, his teammate Stroll was not able to finish the race, but with such promise in the cars, there is hope yet for a good fight for the championships. 

Williams: With damage to Albons car due to fighting with Magnessun and early pitstops due to the safety car,  the team over at Williams did not score any points in Jeddah.