Max Verstappen took a dominant victory at the first Formula 1 race of the season in Bahrain but the chasing pack will be keen to close the gap, so make sure you don’t miss a beat with the session times for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
This will be the third time the sport has visited the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which takes drivers on a high-speed assault through the streets of Saudi Arabia’s capital city.
The makeshift track was initially only supposed to host two or three events before a purpose-built layout in Qiddiya was ready, but it’s unclear whether that is still the case.
Verstappen will once again be the man to beat but Ferrari in particular will be desperate to make inroads into their deficit, especially with rumours of mass staff unrest at Maranello HQ.
Mercedes also endured a night to forget under the lights in Sakhir but team principal Toto Wolff is confident the W14 will be more suited to the characteristics of the Saudi venue.
The 2023 Saudi Arabian GP will take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with qualifying scheduled for 20:00 AST (local time) on Saturday, while the race also gets underway at 20:00 AST (local time) on Sunday.
When is the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP?
| Date | Session | Local | UK (BST) | US (EDT) | US (PST) | Aus. (AEST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar. 17 | Practice 1 | 16:30 | 13:30 | 08:30 | 05:30 | 22:30 |
| Mar. 17 | Practice 2 | 20:00 | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 | 02:00* |
| Mar. 18 | Practice 3 | 16:30 | 13:30 | 08:30 | 05:30 | 22:30 |
| Mar. 18 | Qualifying | 20:00 | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 | 02:00* |
| Mar. 19 | Race | 20:00 | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 | 02:00* |
Who won the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP?
Verstappen prevailed in an epic duel with Charles Leclerc last time out in Saudi Arabia in what appeared set to be the second exchange of an enticing world championship battle.
The Dutchman qualified fourth, two spots behind the Monegasque, but was aided by the timing of an early safety car before slowly hunting down his rival and making a pass stick with three laps to go.
Leclerc tried to come back but to no avail and had to settle for a bitterly disappointing second place, having led the majority of the race.
Behind, Carlos Sainz secured third for Ferrari ahead of Sergio Perez, who was the biggest loser when the safety car was deployed.
Elsewhere, George Russell salvaged fifth for Mercedes in the under-performing W13, while Lewis Hamilton could only manage 10th after his progress was thwarted by the pit lane closure when Daniel Ricciardo‘s McLaren broke down.
