Corniche Circuit In The Zone Or Else
The Saudi Grad prix in Jeddah is going to be a fascinating watch this weekend. Not only is this a new track, but it is also a high speed track with no run off areas. Other tracks if you make a mistake are more forgiving as they have a bail out area where you can regain control and resume the race. Not the case here as if you lose concentration it could be disastrous.
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Exactly as I see this as whoever is not on their game for the full 90 minutes will pay the price and who knows could take others out with them. This track doesn't allow you to relax due to the high speeds as even the corners are in some cases still in 6th gear.
In free practice 2 Charles LeClerc spun off in his Ferrari and there wasn't much left once he came to a standstill. The entire backend as you can see from the photo is completely smashed in. Thankfully the team will have tonight to rebuild the entire car and possibly replace the engine and gearbox.
The new concrete walls are designed to give or move on impact which cushions the blow but not necessarily the damage.
The crash looked worse than it was as the impact into the specially designed concrete barriers was at over 160 mph or over 250km/h. What has shocked the teams more than anything else though is the damage sustained to the car. The track isn't fully rubbered in yet offering extra grip so I am hoping this isn't going to be the pattern as the speeds increase along with the pressure.
Two weeks ago in Qatar we saw 4 drivers suffer tyre failure and this is not a track you can gamble on trying to push the limits. This Sunday expect to see the safety car more than once which will no doubt see the race being red flagged/stopped due to the track being so narrow. These halts in the race will allow teams to change tyres so tyres should not be the reason for the gamble.
As circuits go this is a beautiful location, but at the same time could also be treacherous due the the speeds involved. The safety car took ages to get around during practice laps and not something you want to see especially if an accident occurs towards the end of a lap. Whoever can maintain their concentration for the full 90 minutes will do well at this circuit and will catch the ones who make mistakes regularly and get away with them due to the run offs at other circuits.
This particular race really need patience to participate in other to avoid the other part of the story so as to accomplish the mission. It's quite a risky game but definitely will be very interesting since it's different from other races.