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Following on from the Grands Prix in Japan and Bahrain, the first triple-header of the year comes to a close, still in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia. Round 5 of the Formula 1 World Championship takes place at the Jeddah Corniche street circuit, notable for high speeds and the technical challenges it throws up for drivers and teams.
Running alongside the Red Sea, the 6.174 kilometre track is the second longest on the Formula 1 calendar after Spa-Francorchamps. It boasts 27 corners and holds the Formula 1 record for the highest number of direction changes. It has the characteristics of a street circuit, but in reality it is a permanent facility located in the city, with long flowing corners and several high speed sections, with an average lap speed of over 250 km/h between the concrete barriers. There are three DRS zones, which make for plenty of overtaking opportunities. The first is on the main straight, the second is between turns 19 and 22 and the third on the back straight that leads onto the final hairpin before the start-finish line.
Air temperatures above 30 degrees are expected in Jeddah, dropping to around 23-24 when the sun goes down. The track surface is not very abrasive which suggests that a one-stop strategy is the way to go, but the track characteristics, with the walls always ready to catch out the unwary, mean teams have to be ready to modify their strategy in the case of any unexpected incidents in the race.
Frederic Vasseur: The first triple-header of the season comes to an end in Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit which features very different characteristics in terms of layout and track surface compared to Bahrain last weekend. In Sakhir, we made small steps forward in terms of competitiveness, thanks to an improved car performance and a solid performance from the team in both qualifying and the race. Over these few days in Maranello, we’ve continued to work hard analysing the data, and we want to approach the Jeddah race with the same objective. We must stay focused on ourselves, as that is the best way to try to extract the maximum from the package at our disposal and make steady progress to close the gap that still separates us from those ahead in the standings.
Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP
4 GP Contested2021 (C. Leclerc 7th; C. Sainz 8th)0 Wins0 Pole positions2 (50%) Fastest laps3 (25%) Podiums
Three questions to Sergio Bondi, Head of Logistics
The first triple-header of the season ends this weekend. What are the logistical challenges involved? Sergio Bondi: At the start of the season the most complex phase for us is preparing the sea freight kits, because we ship by sea the structures we use at the races. It’s a tricky task that requires careful planning and adherence to strict timing.
During the triple header, the biggest challenge has been managing the constant flow of parts from Maranello to the track, which could be updates or replacement parts, as well as parts heading back to the factory.
This long championship will visit four continents. Give us some figures relating to the movement of equipment and people of course. SB: Over the course of the year, Formula 1 travels 340,000 kilometres. It means managing the movement of over 100 personnel, material and equipment. When it come to the personnel, this involves organising thousands of hotel check-ins and check-outs, vehicle rentals and airport procedures. As for the rest, we have six identical kits to cover the season and their movement is meticulously planned. The one from Bahrain is already en route to be used in Monaco, while the China kit is heading for Miami. From there, it will be used for the other American races, travelling by train organised with our partner Ceva Logistics. Shorter transfers are done by truck and we try to limit using air freight for material as much as possible, for sustainability reasons. This all requires a high level of planning, and we try to plan as far ahead as possible, so that in the current season we only have to deal with the unexpected, such as car damage, broken parts or a sudden change in the global situation. Then there can be genuine mishaps such as a container falling and damaging all its contents.
Sustainability and efficiency are increasingly important. What measures have you implemented in recent years with regards to movement of the team and its equipment? SB: Economic sustainability is vital: making some procedures more efficient means we can invest more in higher value ones and also because some of our costs are governed by the budget cap. Logistics is a service role and our job is to get everything done as efficiently as possible. We favour sea freight to air wherever possible because, although it’s slower, it results in considerable savings. In general, our main efficiency strategy is in consolidating the material we send. We work with our PMO department that deals with planning and organisation, to arrange shipments for each race with consolidated loads, combining and concentrating materials to reduce the volume we transport, finding the right compromise between weight and volume.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Facts & Figures
0. The number of nails required for the construction of Rowshan, the typical decorative wooden blinds that cover the windows of houses traditional in the Arab world, especially in the Hejaz region, in which Jeddah is situated. These are of great architectural and cultural value and are made using the interlocking carpentry technique known as mortise and tenon joints, with the wooden pieces cut so as to fit together perfectly without the use of glue or nails, ensuring strength and durability, while leading to less expansion and deformation of the wood in hot weather. They are also easier to maintain, as each piece can be removed and replaced. Not having to use nails is particularly useful in Jeddah as the humidity and salt from the Red Sea corrodes metal.
1. The distance of visibility in metres on the foggiest day in Tanomah, an ancient stone city 120 kilometres north of Abha, one of the most important tourist destinations in the country. At the top of the mountain slopes, very unusually for Saudi Arabia given it is one of the few countries in the world without rivers, there are several waterfalls. These are not permanent and only appear after heavy rain and when the snow melts on the mountain peaks that are over 2500 metres high. The climate is mild or cold for most of the year, with very low temperatures in winter. Tanomah boasts several forests and is famous for its juniper trees.
8. The height in metres of Prototaxites, giant fungi that date back to the Ordovician period. Many have been found in fossil form in the Saudi Arabian desert, proving that even that part of the planet was once humid and lush. They were first discovered at the start of this century, but not until 2007 did a carbon isotope study confirm they were indeed giant fungi.
650. The number of historic buildings in Al Balad, the old centre of Jeddah. Covering an area of 2.5 square kilometres, the labyrinth of alleys is home to a souq and several mosques. The old buildings are beautifully decorated with carvings on the doors and large wooden lattice windows, some painted in bright sapphire blue and emerald green. Al Balad is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and these five dwellings are well worth a visit: Beit Baeshen, Beit Salloum, Beit Nassif, Beit Matbouli and Beit Al Sharbatly.
1947. The year when Jeddah’s ancient walls were demolished as they were beginning to stifle the city’s expansion. The city walls had originally been built to defend against Portuguese warships and there were eight gates, known as “bab” in Arabic: Bab Makkah, which opened towards the holy city of Mecca; Bab al-Madinah, facing Medina, Islam’s other holy city; Bab Shareef; Bab al-Sabbah; Bab al-Maghariba; Bab Suraif and Bab al-Naf’a; as well as the new gate built by the first King, Abdulaziz Al Saud. Today, only a few of the city’s history gates still remain.
