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After a blistering season opener in Bahrain, the next stop in the 2022 season is the F1 Saudi Arabian GP. It is a swift return for the sport to the rapid street track in Jeddah, which was the stage for the penultimate Grand Prix of 2021.
Last year saw Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen dominate the headlines. Now, it could be where Ferrari lay down another marker in a new era of F1. Or we could see Red Bull redeem themselves after their late implosion in Bahrain last Sunday.
The first two free practice sessions of the event will be held on March 25 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Free practice 3 will take place on March 26 before the qualifying sessions. All teams are expected to maximize their time to test and check their cars ahead of qualifying. Once in qualifying, parc fermé rules prevent any major changes from being made.
TV Schedule for Free Practice sessions at 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP
USA:
FP1: 10:00 am ET - 11:00 am ET, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP2: 01:00 pm ET - 02:00 pm ET, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP3: 10:00 am ET - 11:00 am ET, Saturday, March 26, 2022
UK:
FP1: 02:00 pm GMT - 03:00 pm GMT, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP2: 05:00 pm GMT - 06:00 pm GMT, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP3: 02:00 pm GMT - 03:00 pm GMT, Saturday, March 26, 2022
India:
FP1: 07:30 pm IST - 08:30 pm IST, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP2: 10:30 pm IST - 11:30 pm IST, Friday, March 25, 2022
FP3: 07:30 pm IST - 08:30 pm IST, Saturday, March 26, 2022
All practice sessions and qualifying sessions, as well as the race, will be broadcast on F1 TV or their app, in the locales where it is available.
In the US, viewers can tune into ESPN and ESPN Deportes to watch all the action live from the three free practice sessions. UK viewers can catch the proceedings on Sky Sports, while Indian viewers can do the same on Star Sports Select, Star Sports Select HD 2, and Disney+ Hotstar.
Jeddah Corniche Circuit updated for safety concerns ahead of 2022 F1 Saudi Arabia GP
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit was updated after safety concerns were raised during last year's inaugural F1 race.
Two early red flags disrupted the race in the narrow street layout with finite run-off areas and crashes were also seen during practice and qualifying. Most notably, Max Verstappen's flying lap in Q3 last season was scuppered by a barrier on the final turn. There was also a horrific crash between Theo Pourchaire and Enzo Fittipaldi in the F2 feature race that weekend.
After receiving feedback from drivers and teams onboard, the Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) has announced tweaks to the Jeddah Corniche circuit. A statement from the race promoters stated that there will be changes made to make the track safer, citing feedback from the inaugural Grand Prix. Announcing the changes, the SMC statement said:
“It has already been confirmed that some minor tweaks will be made to the circuit to help improve driver sight lines from the cockpit by improving visibility in several of the circuit’s corners including Turns 2, 3, 14 and 21 where the barriers will be moved back between 1.5 m and 2 m.”
A common issue with the Jeddah circuit was poor visibility in high-speed blind corners. Based on the current announcement, this is expected to improve in 2022.
