Mercedes brings 'spicy' set-up to unknown Jeddah track: what to watch for at the Saudi Arabia GP

All teams including Mercedes are said to have passed the test comfortably.

Red Bull has been typically upfront about why it thinks that is. The team claimed the top speeds from both Mercedes cars was back to normal in Losail yet Mercedes insists the wing in Qatar was same spec as the one used in Brazil, when this controversy hit the fan.

The former has threatened to protest the car if it suspects a breach of the rear wing regulations but Mercedes maintains its car is fully legal and that its rivals were “seeing ghosts,” according to team boss Toto Wolff.

Never before has a rear wing been as hotly anticipated as this weekend, when top speeds are expected to be high and any performance on the straights will be a major gain in lap time.

Tough track

Self-confessed ‘hater’ of the simulator, Hamilton has been in the Mercedes sim plenty ahead of this weekend’s race in Saudi, showing just how tough a challenge the drivers are expecting the circuit to be.

He even took part in a track scoot in Qatar, something he rarely does so there is no stone left unturned for the reigning champion as he looks to hold onto his crown.

The ultra-fast Jeddah street circuit looks like the fastest parts of the Baku Street Circuit threaded together with very little margin for error. Combine that with the poor track surface likely to greet the drivers on Friday and there is a recipe for disaster if someone gets it wrong.

“Judging from what I saw on the simulator, Saudi will be extremely quick, with a large number of very high-speed corners, some of them blind. I think it’s going to be very complicated from a driving point of view and there will be the extra challenge of the track surface being completely new,” AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly said ahead of the weekend.

“No cars have ever raced on it, there will be no rubber down and probably some oil will still be coming out of the tarmac, which is what normally happens at a new circuit. So, we are looking at a street circuit with quite low grip, which is a new challenge as no one has any data from the track.

“Another thing that is clear from the simulator is that the speeds are very high, but the walls are very close, so it should be impressive from the cockpit and a nice challenge, which we must prepare as well as possible for.”

Fastest lap

The Saudi Arabian GP could be pivotal to this season’s world championship and the additional point for fastest lap is a crucial part of the picture.

Hamilton and Verstappen have made clear that each point matters in this title fight. The Red Bull driver pitted late on during the Qatar Grand Prix to secure the fastest lap point and Hamilton’s team radio asking whether his rival had achieved the extra score proved its worth.

With two ‘bonus’ points remaining this season, the Saudi Arabia fastest lap could turn out to be the deciding factor for this year’s championship fight.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have both been deployed this year as a foil for their opposite numbers. Pitting late to deprive their rival outfit of the extra point has counted not only for the constructors’ championship but impacted the drivers’ also.

With a maximum score of 52 points remaining, both championships are separated by a knife-edge. Verstappen needs a minimum of 18 points to secure the 2021 world championship should Hamilton fail to score a point this weekend.

If both fail to score this weekend, we’d head into the final round of the season with an eight point gap in the standings and a maximum point differential of eight remaining. On countback, Verstappen would be crowned world champion. Bottas and Perez will be deployed in an unforeseen but extremely tense showdown and battle for the deciding fastest lap point.

If Hamilton wins with Verstappen runner-up, the balance is marginal depending on where the fastest lap point ends up this weekend. But if Hamilton wins and Verstappen secures the fastest lap once again in P2, they’d enter the final round level on points.