| 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 24 in the2024 Formula One World Championship
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 The circuit layout | |||||
| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 9 March 2024 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 STCSaudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 | ||||
| Location | Jeddah Corniche Circuit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | ||||
| Course | Street Circuit | ||||
| Course length | 6.174 km (3.836 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 50 laps, 308.450 km (191.662 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Clear | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Time | 1:27.472 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:31.632 on lap 50 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Second | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024) was aFormula One motor race held on 9 March 2024 at theJeddah Corniche Circuit inJeddah,Saudi Arabia. The race was the second round of the2024 Formula One World Championship.
Max Verstappen won the race frompole position, taking his 100th podium, his ninth victory in a row, and his second victory of the season. This race saw the Grand Prix debut ofFormula 2 driverOliver Bearman, who substituted forCarlos Sainz Jr. atFerrari. Bearman finished in seventh place scoring his first points in Formula One.
The event was held across 7–9 March. It was the second round of the2024 Formula One World Championship and the fourth running of theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix.[2]
The Grand Prix was scheduled for a Saturday to accommodateRamadan, which began on 10 March.[3]
Going into the weekend,Max Verstappen led theDrivers' Championship with 26 points, 8 points from his teammateSergio Pérez in second, and 11 fromCarlos Sainz Jr. in third.Red Bull Racing led theConstructors' Championship overFerrari by 17 points, andMercedes by 28 points.[4]
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The drivers and teams were initially the same as the season entry list.[5] However,Ferrari reserve andFormula 2 driverOliver Bearman replacedCarlos Sainz Jr. starting from the third free practice session, after Sainz was diagnosed withappendicitis and withdrew from the event to undergo surgery.[6] Bearman made his Formula One debut.[7]
Tyre supplierPirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds (the middle three in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[8]
Threefree practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 7 March 2024, at 16:30 local time (UTC+3), and was topped byMax Verstappen ofRed Bull Racing ahead ofFernando Alonso ofAston Martin and Verstappen's teammateSergio Pérez.[9][5] The second free practice session was held on the same day and was scheduled at 20:00 local time, but was delayed by ten minutes as bolts were checked on drain covers in the pit lane.[10] The session was topped by Alonso ahead ofGeorge Russell ofMercedes and Verstappen.[11] The third free practice session was held on 8 March 2024, at 16:30 local time, and was topped by Verstappen ahead ofCharles Leclerc ofFerrari and Verstappen's teammate Pérez. The session was red-flagged afterSauber'sZhou Guanyu lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers, but was resumed after necessary repairs to the barriers were carried out.[12]
Qualifying was held on 8 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3).[1]
Notes
The race was held on 9 March 2024, at 20:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 50 laps.[1]
At the starting grid, Norris appeared to jump the start but the stewards did not issue any penalty as the FIA's standardised grid box transponder did not detect an infringement. The sporting regulations require these transponders to detect an infringement for a penalty to be issued.[15] There were two retirements. Before the race, on the formation lap,Pierre Gasly reported gearbox issues which forced him to retire before the start of the race.Lance Stroll retired on lap 7 due to a crash at Turn 23 which brought out a safety car.[16]Kevin Magnussen ofHaas accumulated 20 seconds worth of penalties. One of these was a 10-second penalty for a collision withAlexander Albon, and the other 10-second penalty was for overtakingYuki Tsunoda off-track. Knowing that he was unlikely to finish in the points, the team ordered him to focus on defense during the wide parts of the circuit, and drive as slowly as possible in the narrow parts of the circuit while overtaking is most difficult. With Magnussen backing up the drivers behind, teammateNico Hülkenberg successfully finished tenth and earned his and Haas's first point of the season.[17]
PolesitterMax Verstappen won the race ahead of teammateSergio Pérez, marking a second straight 1–2 forRed Bull Racing, withFerrari'sCharles Leclerc in third with one extra point for the fastest lap. This marked Verstappen's 100th career podium.[18][16]McLaren'sOscar Piastri finished fourth withAston Martin'sFernando Alonso in fifth.Mercedes'sGeorge Russell finished sixth with Ferrari debutantOliver Bearman in seventh. They were followed byLando Norris, who briefly led the Grand Prix, in eighth, andLewis Hamilton in ninth, after both drivers attempted an alternate tyre strategy.Nico Hülkenberg claimed the final point in tenth, clinching his and Haas's first point of the season.[16]
Notes
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| Previous race: 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2024 season | Next race: 2024 Australian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Next race: 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
