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The 2024 F1 season heads to Saudi Arabia for its next race this weekend, and many are hoping for a closer contest. The first race of the season in Bahrain was a complete dud, with Max Verstappen dominating the field in his Red Bull.
Unfortunately for Max Verstappen and Red Bull, this was not the biggest news that made its way out of the race weekend. Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, calling for Christian Horner's removal from the team as the team principal has added to the long list of controversies witnessed by the sport this year.
As we head to the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, it's almost as if the on-track action has taken a backseat compared to the off-track political drama. To cap it all off, we have an investigation against the FIA president for intervening in a race result. In all of this, what can we expect from the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP? Let's take a look.
2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Preview
Key Storylines
#1 The Red Bull-Christian Horner Civil War
The last two months for Christian Horner have involved an avalanche of leaks, fake stories, and click-bait articles, with only droplets of truth trickling down from all of this.
At the moment, the team is heading for a split of some sort, and the whole thing has transformed from being an investigation for cross-border behavior to a coup that throws Christian Horner out of the team.
The overall outcome for Horner, or, for that matter, Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull, is something to be discussed in another piece, but for now, it's safe to say that this will have a ripple effect that is not optimal for the team.
#2 The FIA president's investigation
As if the sport weren't already reeling from a scandal, the FIA president has thrown his hat in the ring as well. Mohammad Ben Sulayem is being investigated for interference in a race result. According to reports, he interfered in overturning Fernando Alonso's penalty in the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. More details will surely emerge, but it's safe to say that the president is on a slippery slope at the moment.
#3 The pecking order
How far ahead is Red Bull? Well, if we go by the race in Bahrain, the gap might be over a second. Such was the pace that Max Verstappen had early in the race, when he was pushing hard to stretch the gap to the rest of the field.
There were, however, mitigating issues for both Ferrari and Mercedes that played a role in inflating the advantage. The race in Saudi Arabia could help us identify what the true pecking order and the gap that Red Bull has over the rest of the field.
Form Guide
In form
One has to say that even if for a moment we keep the off-track shenanigans aside, Red Bull is good into the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP primed to dominate. The car is just on another level in terms of race pace, while still being quick enough to qualify. Unless the off-track stuff starts trickling into the race team's performance, expect another dominant run from Max Verstappen.
Out of form
Nico Hulkenberg in his Haas was able to make a pitstop on the first lap of the race in Bahrain, drop close to 40 seconds behind the field, and still finish the race ahead of the Alpine duo.
Soon after, we got the news that Alpine's technical director and head of aerodynamics had called time on their stint with the team. The French squad is a sinking ship, and nobody is going to touch it with a 10-foot pole.
2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Predictions
Who is going to win the race?
Unless the off-track nonsense completely derails Red Bull, Max Verstappen is winning the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. The gap to the chasing pack is just too big, and no one can compete with him right now.
Surprise of the weekend (team)
We might see McLaren have a better run this weekend. The team was a distant fourth at Bahrain, and even with Russell's power unit issues, Lando didn't have the pace to put together a challenge. In Jeddah, the fast-speed sections do suit the car, and maybe the team could leap in the pecking order.
Surprise of the weekend (Driver)
Haas was very impressive last weekend. In the hands of Nico Hulkenberg, the car was flying. The 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP gives the car another opportunity to extract its current potential. We're backing Hulkenberg to continue with his form in Bahrain and score points for the team.
Disappointment of the weekend (Team)
This might be an easy one as Alpine is not going to make too much progress over a week. The team is clearly at the bottom of the pecking order, and to make things worse, it has lost technical director Matt Harman as well. There's no hope for the team in the short term. Expect another round of drubbing at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
Disappointment of the weekend (Driver)
Sergio Perez's final result at Bahrain was a tad flattering to deceive because the Mexican benefitted from car issues for both George Russell and Charles Leclerc. He was still more than 20 seconds behind his teammate which should underline the kind of race he had. With both Mercedes and Ferrari raring to go, Sergio Perez might struggle to make a podium this time around at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
