2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Buildup, Practice & Qualifying Thread

[tifosi1993]

Last year's result:

[jgonzalesm6]

Whose going to use the DRS zones to their advantage like we saw last year and the year before.

[Greig]

Fingers crossed we see a turn around in our pace on a less tyre killing track.

[Cavallino]

the greatest driver of our generation got outqualified by his teammate at a street circuit... interesting

[The Hajj]

Thread title should have the correct year

[Rishu]

C'mon Ferrari

[jgonzalesm6]

Leclerc will take a 10 place grid penalty.....confirmed.

Yep, a long season ahead.

[wisepie]

Leclerc will take a 10 place grid penalty.....confirmed.

Yep, a long season ahead.

Where have you seen this? I was expecting a possible 5-place penalty, but not 10. Fred should protest.

[FerrariF60]

Where have you seen this? I was expecting a possible 5-place penalty, but not 10. Fred should protest.

Protest what??? these are the rules; we're only allowed 2 ES and CE for the season

first one they changed it as a precautionary after free practice in bahrain and the second one failed him during the race, so he'll be on a THIRD one if they haven't managed to FIX the first one...which means penalties....it is pretty clear cut to me

[brucewayne]

2nd race and first grid penalty? This has to be a joke…

[FerrariF60]

2nd race and first grid penalty? This has to be a joke…

so much from Ferrari working on reliability over the winter to make the PU bullet proof....what a JOKE

[Aziz]

so much from Ferrari working on reliability over the winter to make the PU bullet proof....what a JOKE

What a joke of a team, ffs we are in the second race of a season

[FerrariF60]

What a joke of a team, ffs we are in the second race of a season

yup, agree....at this rate we'll lose the champioship for sure....not that we were in a contention to win it anyways after the poor testing as well as poor performance in Bahrain...

but it's ONLY the second race....we'll see

[brucewayne]

yup, agree....at this rate we'll lose the champioship for sure....not that we were in a contention to win it anyways after the poor testing as well as poor performance in Bahrain...

but it's ONLY the second race....we'll see

Lets wait, no confirmation yet. A grip penalty in the second race would be a disaster.

[brucewayne]

Unbelievable

Everyone is laughing about Ferrari again…
What a comedy show
https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1...ddah/10443731/

[subfire91]

so much from Ferrari working on reliability over the winter to make the PU bullet proof....what a JOKE

CE failure. that is not PU...

[Super M]

Unbelievable

Everyone is laughing about Ferrari again…
What a comedy show
https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1...ddah/10443731/

I feel the pain.................Doubt that we're being laughed at tho..........Others will also face this problem i'm sure........ok, well at least i hope

[elnano14]

I don't know what should I expect for this race
Top 3 for Carlos and a top 5-6 finish for Charles given the current stage of our car ?

[fastcarchar]

If Ferrari have a great car a ten place grid penalty will not cost the season, if they don’t have a great car there’s simply zero loss to complain about.

I’m not happy about the silly rule regarding the CE components either, clearly a stupid rule to prevent excessive spending, trouble is it messes with the show & that’s what fans pay to see, it’s what really matters.

[paolo lalli]

Don't worry it will be show watching Charles applying his craft hunting down car after car we will see the ferrari power unleash down the the straits.This race and track is a whole new beast.

[wisepie]

If Ferrari have a great car a ten place grid penalty will not cost the season, if they don’t have a great car there’s simply zero loss to complain about.

I’m not happy about the silly rule regarding the CE components either, clearly a stupid rule to prevent excessive spending, trouble is it messes with the show & that’s what fans pay to see, it’s what really matters.

I realise these penalties are the rules but I have to agree with your second sentence. Race 2 and Charles already on the back foot after Bahrain, frustration getting to him, I just hope he'll be able to finish this one by not letting that frustration boil over. And avoiding any first lap dramas. Maybe the SF23's speed on those straights will help.

[paolo lalli]

Anything can happen come race day.As i say always expect the unexpected and means all teams.

[fastcarchar]

Absolutely, nice to see some positivity.
As Murray Walker once said “anything can happen in Formula one & it usually does”

[Cavallino]

exactly this, there's no reason to be down about an engine change, we watched Red Bull and Merc in years past, make a complete mockery of these penalties. Between DRS, and safety cars, it doesn't really matter where you qualify in modern F1. And this year Ferrari should have that top speed. A track like this, there's plenty of DRS and plenty of safety cars.

In fact, I'd take another one at Australia to get another ECU into the pool, since Australia thinks 4 DRS zones is a good idea.

And the other consolidation is that it isn't the PU itself, it was the installation... that's what they're telling us. We hope it's true.

[Cavallino]

exactly this, there's no reason to be down about an engine change, we watched Red Bull and Merc in years past, make a complete mockery of these penalties. Between DRS, and safety cars, it doesn't really matter where you qualify in modern F1. And this year Ferrari should have that top speed. A track like this, there's plenty of DRS and plenty of safety cars.

In fact, I'd take another one at Australia to get another ECU into the pool, since Australia thinks 4 DRS zones is a good idea.

And the other consolidation is that it isn't the PU itself, it was the installation... that's what they're telling us. We hope it's true.

also, we've seen in years past such as 2019, and 2022, where the Ferrari is quick on the rear limited circuits like Bahrain and we all remember Austria last year, but less competitive on the front limited circuits like Jeddah. I for one think modern F1 favours front limited cars, when you look at the calendar.

(i'm saying i'm hoping this year's Ferrari is front limited)

[Cavallino]

also, we've seen in years past such as 2019, and 2022, where the Ferrari is quick on the rear limited circuits like Bahrain and we all remember Austria last year, but less competitive on the front limited circuits like Jeddah. I for one think modern F1 favours front limited cars, when you look at the calendar.

(i'm saying i'm hoping this year's Ferrari is front limited)

12 front limited vs 9 rear limited and i'd say Las Vegas will be front limited too

https://race-week.tumblr.com/post/64...mited-circuits

this is why losing Monaco hurt last year, because we couldn't afford to lose the races we were supposed to win, and that was down to bad luck. We'll need some good luck for a change, preferably on a track where Red Bull is strong to balance things out.

[brucewayne]

Such a penalty in the second race is embarrassing. There is no other way to describe it.

[Cavallino]

Such a penalty in the second race is embarrassing. There is no other way to describe it.

like i said, if the car is as quick as it should be, in modern F1, it really doesn't matter

[brucewayne]

like i said, if the car is as quick as it should be, in modern F1, it really doesn't matter

It matters, right now we did not show the pace needed to be fine with such a handicap.

[PURE PASSION]

Im not concern about this penalty. Its something strange but i see it as a one off . Its not an engine problem (that would be more serious) And i know it looks like a big problem points wise but the season is very very long. IF we managed to solve our "performane" problems and be competitive in every race ,then everything can happen. SO my concern is the performance and not reliability!!!