Again Formula 1 arouses the electricity of the staff because Fernando Alonso is back. In Jeddah he returns to the front row, second on the starting grid due to Leclerc’s suspension (ten places) and a fantastic classification, third at full speed, in which Aston Martin performs fabulously on a circuit that is theoretically not conducive. He broke his Red Bull Verstappen, the great favourite, and his teammate ‘Checo’ Pérez took pole position by a certain margin. The Red Bulls are in another dimension, but the Aston Martin is the first candidate for the rebound. Carlos Sainz qualified fifth and will start fourth.
The transit of twenty cars on the Jeddah track is overwhelming due to the sensation of danger generated by the poor visibility when exiting the curves and the extreme speed of the cars. Risk circuit where anything can happen in qualifying and also in the race.
Fernando Alonso does his first top of the course, the car goes out with cold tires in Q1 when he goes out on the track. The Aston Martins try to take advantage of the rubber that the wheels leave on the asphalt and that causes more grip. They come out later, but the performance is the same. The British car is second in the table, which is ordered by cars.
Verstappen and ‘Checo’ Pérez in the lead, with Alonso and Stroll next, and then Ferrari with Leclerc and Sainz. A lot of equality in the medi zonea, one tenth up or down, except at the cusp. Verstappen has half a second of rent.
Albon, Tsunoda, De Vries, Sargeant and the most upset of all, Lando Norris with the McLaren that doesn’t work at this start of the season are eliminated. His companion Piastri is saved by a sigh.
A slight click alters the course of the grand prize. Verstappen’s Red Bull slows down and the Dutchman utters one cursed word: engine.
Actually, it doesn’t seem like the cause of his sudden fall because neither smoke comes out of the energy car nor is it ordered to stop immediately to avoid problems. The snap is a broken bearing which annuls Red Bull, removes it from the classification and leaves the door open to another world.
car break number 1
Alonso gets the fastest time in Q2, sensational lap, 1.28:757, which is life-altering in Jeddah. The faces on the Red Bull wall, with regular stars Chris Horner and Helmut Marko, say it all. Nuisance. Car number one cannot be repaired. Verstappen’s baja and it will come from far behind in Saudi Arabia.
Carlos Sainz also joins the party. The Ferraris are fast in qualifying and the Spaniard seals the fourth best time in Q2, behind Alonso, Pérez and his teammate Leclerc. Two Spaniards in dispute for the pole.
In the final round, with the cars on the run, Sergio Pérez shows the superiority of Red Bull at one lap. In his first attempt, he achieves an unbeatable time, 1.28: 265, which no one disputes in the second round. Nor Alonso, surpassed by Leclerc, but crew member of the first line for the sanction to the Monegasque.
It is time to dream with Spanish. This is what Alonso says: «I am confident because our car is strong. In theory this circuit was our weak point, but they have also performed well for one lap. It’s amazing that we’re on the front line.” Since last year, in Canada, the Asturian did not start from the first row.