Esteban Ocon gave his opinion on the new Saudi circuit and called it a challenge like the one in Baku.
F1 will race in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the sport’s history. It will be a street circuit race at Jeddah, and with no prior data available on the circuit, it should be a very interesting weekend.
The Jeddah Corniche track has 27 turns, and is reported to be a maximum attack circuit for 79% of a lap. That is higher than the average number, so it might shape up to be a blistering race.
Such a track will require drivers to maximise their flat-out abilities and hold-up game. Ocon gave his opinion on the Saudi circuit, and revealed that he was excited to see what it had in store for his team.
“Preparation is the key to getting on the pace at new places,” he said in a preview for the race weekend, as quoted by Planet F1.
“The guys have worked hard in running simulations and understanding everything as best as possible, and we had a good day on the simulator to get dialled into the circuit, so we don’t have any surprises when we get there this week.
“I like these kind of crazy tracks like Baku for example. It pushes everything to the limit, and I think that will be fun.”
The ins and outs
The Frenchman also talked about the intricacies of the track, and suggested that it will be a very demanding race.
“The circuit looks quite demanding as it’s a fast street track with the walls close all the time,” he continued.
“It’s extremely high speed with a lot of chicanes and fast corners one after the other with little room for rest. With so many corners, it presents a challenge for the engineers to work out how best to set up the car with so many demands.
“It’s a long lap too, so I think it’s going to be very physical for us, and it’s important we stay focused during the race,” he concluded.
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