Hamilton, Mercedes, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — Photo: © LAT Images

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Mercedes warn of Jeddah "jeopardy" at 'unforgiving circuit'

A crash for Hamilton could be championship defining

Ewan Gale

Friday 3 December 2021 20:11

Mercedes director of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin has warned of potential "jeopardy" at a circuit he has described as 'unforgiving'.

The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix got underway with two practice sessions that had escaped a major incident until Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at turns 22 and 23, sustaining heavy damage to his Ferrari and bringing Friday's running to a close.

Further incidents are expected given the high-speed nature and narrowness of the track layout, with the circuit the second-fastest on the calendar behind Monza.

Article continues under video

Lewis Hamilton enters the weekend eight points behind Max Verstappen and ended both sessions on top of the timesheets.

Asked if he would rather be racing on a track with wide run-off areas considering the championship battle, Shovlin told Sky Sports F1: "We saw from Charles at the end it is really not a forgiving circuit if you put a wheel wrong.

"That does create a bit of jeopardy. They have obviously got to push in qualifying.

"As for the race, it will be quite hard to overtake so there will be periods where they can manage and look after the car and the tyres."

As to how the team will attack the final two races with Hamilton potentially needing two race victories, Shovlin explained: "Really, it is as simple as that in the sense that Lewis does need to win both races.

"It is nice to have that clarity in the objective but the key thing is we engineer a car we can get on pole. That is the fastest thing in the race.

"If we give that to Lewis he should do the job and if we give that to Valtteri he will certainly be right up there."

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 Results Today: George Russell claims historic Australian GP win after Oscar Piastri crash

1 hour ago

Lewis Hamilton handed major boost after shock Australian Grand Prix crash

2 hours ago

F1 2026 Australian Grand Prix starting grid with penalties applied

3 hours ago

Oscar Piastri crashes out of F1 Australian Grand Prix BEFORE the formation lap

3 hours ago

F1 Race Today: Australian Grand Prix 2026 start times, schedule, TV channel and FREE live stream