JEDDAH PREVIEW: Talking points ahead of Round 2

The action is kicking up a notch as the F1 ACADEMY field gets set to go racing around the fast-paced Jeddah Corniche Circuit for Round 2 of the 2025 campaign.

Reconvening less than a fortnight on from in-season testing at the same venue, it won’t just be the track action heating up. Switching between soaring temperatures and qualifying under the floodlights will be the drivers’ biggest test yet, but who will set the timesheets alight this time?

Before the cars roar into life, here are a few of the hot topics getting people talking in Jeddah.

PIN’S IN THE DRIVING SEAT

Taking home victory in Shanghai Race 2 and seizing the lead of the Drivers’ Standings, Doriane Pin has marked herself out as the one to beat after the opening weekend.

That in itself comes as little surprise, with the 2024 Vice-Champion noted as a title favourite from the outset. The bigger question is — can she extend her five-point advantage and if so, by how far?

Jeddah is a welcome return for the Mercedes driver, who was in formidable form in her F1 ACADEMY debut last year. Sealing both pole positions on offer, she took two lights-to-flag victories on track but was demoted to ninth in Race 2 after receiving a drive-through penalty, converted into a 20-second time penalty, for crossing the chequered flag twice.

Her nearest rival, Maya Weug, is determined to be back with a vengeance. The Ferrari driver qualified on pole in Shanghai but was unable to convert it into a win, something which she was rueing post-race. Weug looked to be the quicker of the two across the in-season test after making some adjustments to her approach, but we won’t get a clear picture of how the two stack up until Qualifying.

POLE POSITION IS THE PLACE TO BE

Acutely aware of the Jeddah circuit’s limited overtaking opportunities, the emphasis will be on performing when it counts in Qualifying. Last year’s cohort were separated by 2.8s with Pin’s fastest lap seven tenths clear of Abbi Pulling, but the margins are expected to be tighter, particularly towards the top of the timing sheets.

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A good getaway in Jeddah can make or break a driver’s race as Turn 1 proved to be one of the prime spots to gamble on move. Without the availability of DRS, the next alternative would be through Turns 6 to 8 but they’ll need to beware of run-off and risking a penalty for going off-track and gaining an advantage.

Chances could open up towards the latter stages as tyre management will leave those who’ve failed to keep their Pirelli rubber alive vulnerable in their defence.

CAMPOS AIMING FOR MORE AFTER SHANGHAI SUCCESS

They might have been the only team to deliver six points-scoring finishes across their trio, including three pieces of silverware, but Teams’ Standings leader Campos Racing are feeling ambitious ahead of Jeddah.

Despite winning Race 1, Alisha Palmowski didn’t feel that the Shanghai circuit was best suited to her style, but the Saudi venue seemed a lot more to her taste. Going fastest across the three-day test, the Red Bull Racing driver admitted that she and the rest of the field were all holding some pace back.

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Chloe Chambers was another of Shanghai’s standouts with back-to-back podium finishes, but the Red Bull Ford driver and her Team Manager Gabriela Parra both are firm in their belief that there are still bigger and better things to come, with more wins top of the Spanish outfit’s agenda.

ROOKIES KEEN TO AVOID A SHANGHAI ONE-OFF

Although they might have lacked some experience compared to the second year drivers, the rookies showed little sign of it in Shanghai. Demonstrating they could produce both one-lap and race pace worthy of being towards the front of the field, it’s now down to them to prove that it wasn’t a season opener fluke.

Palmowski, Tommy Hilfiger’s Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr of Kick Sauber all delivered top-five finishes, whilst Alpine’s Nina Gademan looked on course for her first win in Race 1 before she was forced to retire with a technical issue. Of the 18 points-scoring positions available across the two races in China, 11 were occupied by a rookie.

As they did in Shanghai, the opportunity for testing should have helped in levelling the playing field.

However, the 2024 returnees have one crucial advantage that they didn’t have last time out — an understanding of how that particular circuit would evolve in-between the Formula 1 and Formula 2 sessions.

That familiarity should give the likes of PREMA Racing and ART Grand Prix the edge with two experienced drivers at the helm, whilst the likes of Rodin will be relying heavily on the team’s knowledge to fill in any gaps for their Jeddah debutants.

Title hopes might not rest on their results in Jeddah, but the performances they put it could set the tone for the opening half of season with the second of the back-to-back street circuits in Miami not too far away.