Red Bull became the first team to secure a 1-2 result at Jeddah Corniche Circuit in 2023, while Mercedes are the only other team to have won in Saudi Arabia. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!
RED BULL
WINS: 2, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 4 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: PEREZ 1st, VERSTAPPEN 2nd
Sergio Perez led home a Red Bull 1-2 at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen recovering from 15th on the grid to secure the team’s fourth podium finish at the track. Verstappen recorded Red Bull’s first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix victory one year previously, taking the win by just half a second from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Sergio Perez took Red Bull’s first pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022 but failed to convert it into a win as result of being unlucky with race strategy. He had better luck the following season, converting his pole to victory, despite losing the lead to Fernando Alonso at Turn 1.
Perez is responsible for Red Bull’s only retirement – and only non-top four finish – so far in Saudi Arabia, having crashed out at the first restart in the 2021 race.
Meanwhile, Verstappen is responsible for the team’s only non-Q3 appearance in Saudi Arabia, after being forced out in Q2 in 2023 due to engine issues.
Perez’s pole positions are the team’s only front row starts at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
MERCEDES
WINS: 1, POLES: 1, PODIUMS: 2 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: RUSSELL 4th, HAMILTON 5th
Mercedes have scored with all six of their entries at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The team was the first to win at the track, with Lewis Hamilton taking victory at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas joined him on the podium, overtaking Alpine’s Esteban Ocon just before the finish line.
While neither Mercedes driver finished on the podium in the 2022 or 2023 Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, both scored points. George Russell finished fifth, while Lewis Hamilton came home in tenth place in 2022, while both recorded top five results in 2023.
Mercedes locked-out the front row at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but have not qualified on the front row in Jeddah since then. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 in 2022, where he could manage no better than the 16th fastest time. It’s the only time a Mercedes driver has failed to reach Q3 so far at this venue.
FERRARI
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 2 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: SAINZ 6th, LECLERC 7th
Along with Mercedes, Ferrari are one of two teams yet to see either of their cars finish outside of the points at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished seventh and eighth in 2021, both finished on the podium in 2022. Leclerc was just half a second behind race winner Max Verstappen, while Sainz was a further eight seconds behind in third place.
In 2023, both Ferrari drivers scored again. Leclerc recovered from a 12th place start due to an engine penalty to finish seventh, while Sainz finished one position ahead.
Carlos Sainz’s 15th place in qualifying at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the only time that a Ferrari driver has failed to reach Q3 – or failed to qualify in the top five – at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
In 2022, both Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified in the top three. Leclerc recorded the team’s first front row qualification at the track, lapping just 0.025 seconds slower than polesitter Sergio Perez. Leclerc qualified on the front row again in 2023 but was demoted ten positions on the grid due to his penalty.
McLAREN
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: PIASTRI 15th, NORRIS 17th
In the first two races at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, McLaren qualified in the top ten only once, but Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement in 2022 was the only time that the team has failed to score.
Ricciardo gave the team their best finish to date at the track in 2021, with fifth place, while Lando Norris finished tenth and seventh in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
McLaren failed to score at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing a lowly 15th and 17th, after both of their drivers’ races were compromised on the opening lap. Oscar Piastri started 8th after reaching Q3 for the first time in his career but picked up damage on Lap 1. Norris – who recorded a rare Q1 elimination – then ran over the debris from his team-mate.
Lando Norris’ seventh place in qualifying for the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is McLaren’s best qualifying result to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
ASTON MARTIN
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 1 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALONSO 3rd, STROLL DNF
Aston Martin have scored just once at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, thanks to a podium finish for Fernando Alonso in 2023. Alonso led the opening laps of the 2023 race after starting from the front row and passing polesitter Sergio Perez at the start of the race.
Aside from Alonso’s podium, 11th place for Lance Stroll in 2021 is the team’s second-best result at the track to date. The team has had two DNFs here: for Sebastian Vettel in 2021 and for Stroll in 2023.
Prior to 2023, Aston Martin had made it out of Q1 only once at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Lance Stroll qualifying 15th in 2022. That changed in 2023, with both Stroll and Fernando Alonso qualifying in the top six. Alonso was promoted to the front row after a grid penalty for Charles Leclerc, while Stroll mvoed up into the top five.
The team is yet to qualify on the back row at the track. Their worst qualifying result here is 18th – recorded by Stroll in 2021 and Nico Hulkenberg in 2022.
ALPINE
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: OCON 8th, GASLY 9th
Esteban Ocon very nearly brought Alpine a podium finish in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, only to be overtaken by Valtteri Bottas on the line. Ocon’s fourth place remains the team’s best result at Jeddah Corniche Circuit to date.
Until 2023, the Frenchman was the only driver to score for the team at the venue, with Fernando Alonso having finished outside of the points in 2021 and failing to finish with a reliability issue in 2022.
Both Ocon and new team-mate Pierre Gasly scored in the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, marking the first double points finish for Alpine at the track.
Fernando Alonso’s 13th place in qualifying at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the only time that the team has failed to reach Q3 in Jeddah. Esteban Ocon supplied Alpine with their best qualifying result in Saudi Arabia to date last year, with fifth on the grid.
WILLIAMS
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: SARGEANT 16th, ALBON DNF
Williams are the only team yet to score at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Nicholas Latifi’s 12th place finish in 2021 and Logan Sargeant’s 16th place in 2023 are the only times that a Williams driver has crossed the finish line at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
George Russell was caught up in a crash in 2021, Latifi crashed out in 2022, Alex Albon also retired in 2022 following a collision with Lance Stroll (for which the Thai driver received a three-place grid drop at the next event) and Albon was out again in 2023 with brake failure.
George Russell’s 14th place in qualifying for the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix remains the only time that a Williams driver has progressed past Q1 in Jeddah. In 2022, Nicholas Latifi recorded the team’s first back row qualification at the track, setting the slowest lap time of the 19 drivers who put in a fast lap. Logan Sargeant became the first Williams driver to qualify 20th at the event in 2023.
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WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: TSUNODA 11th, DE VRIES 14th
The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was the first Jeddah race in which AlphaTauri failed to score, though Yuki Tsunoda came close to doing so finishing in 11th place.
Both of the team’s points-scoring appearances to date at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have come courtesy of Pierre Gasly, who recorded the Red Bull junior team’s best Saudi Arabian Grand Prix result to date with sixth place in the inaugural race. He finished eighth in 2022, while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda failed to make the start with engine issues.
It was a weekend to forget for Yuki Tsunoda in 2022, with him also failing to set a lap time in qualifying. As a result, he recorded the team’s first non-Q3 appearance at the track. Both Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries were eliminated in Q1 in 2023.
Pierre Gasly set AlphaTauri’s best Jeddah qualifying result to date at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with sixth place.
SAUBER
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: ZHOU 13th, BOTTAS 18th
Antonio Giovinazzi’s ninth place in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the only time that the former Alfa Romeo team has picked up points at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Valtteri Bottas recorded the first retirement for an Alfa Romeo driver at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022, with every other entry for the team resulting in a finish outside of the points.
The team is yet to record a Q1 exit at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Both drivers were out in Q2 in 2023. In both prior visit to Jeddah, the team has recorded a Q3 appearance and Q2 elimination.
Antonio Giovinazzi qualified tenth in 2021, while Valtteri Bottas bettered the team’s top qualifying performance at the circuit with eighth place at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. 14th, for Bottas in 2023, is the team’s worst Saturday showing here to date.
HAAS
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2023 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT: MAGNUSSEN 10th, HULKENBERG 12th
Haas have scored points in each of the last two Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. Kevin Magnussen has been the points scorer on both occasions, finishing ninth in 2022 and tenth in 2023.
Nico Hulkenberg’s 12th place in 2023 is the only other time that a Haas driver has crossed the finish line at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin crashed out in the inaugural race at the track, while Haas fielded just one car in the 2022 race after Schumacher was ruled out of the race following a heavy crash in qualifying.
In 2022, Kevin Magnussen became the first – and so far only – Haas driver to reach Q3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He qualified in tenth place. Mick Schumacher reached Q2 before suffering the heavy crash which forced him out of Sunday’s race.
At the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, neither Schumacher nor Nikita Mazepin could make it out of Q1. The duo locked-out the back row of the grid. Both Haas drivers were out in Q2 last year.
