Racing saves the day at Saudi Arabian GP: talking points

Hamilton out of sorts

The sight of Hamilton failing to progress beyond the first qualifying session on Saturday drew gasps of shock. His boss Toto Wolff put it down to “a set-up experiment” that backfired, but despite Hamilton’s predictably methodical and patient recovery drive on Sunday, climbing as high as sixth behind his quietly impressive new team-mate George Russell, it’s clear the Silver Arrows have been seriously blunted this term.

Then even where luck usually runs in his favour, that seems to have deserted Hamilton now. As both Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo lost power, the safety car interlude that Hamilton needed to negotiate his single pit stop and still score good points looked set to fall his way. Instead, the virtual safety car (VSC) was used – even though it left marshals worryingly vulnerable as they recovered cars beside others still travelling at a decent lick – and Hamilton was forced to pit under full racing conditions. In the circumstances, a solitary point for 10th was all he could muster.

Schumacher benched by Haas

F1’s capacity for surprise knows no bounds. A messy race pockmarked by safety cars and red flags was predicted, but instead the second Saudi Arabian GP mostly ran clean. Nevertheless, concerns about this fast street track remain – and were enhanced by Schumacher’s high-impact crash in qualifying. The young German lost his Haas on a kerb, then smacked into a naked concrete wall. He was lucky modern F1 cars cocoon their drivers so well.

Schumacher was declared fit to race, but his team benched him to save the car for Australia. That goes against the natural instinct of racing teams – but this early in the season, spares are in short supply and the cars are being shipped straight from Jeddah to Melbourne. If Mick scores in Albert Park, as well he might, the cautious approach will pay off.

The threat of boycott

So were the drivers serious about pulling out of the grand prix in the wake of the missile attack on Friday? Understandably, it shook up everyone in the paddock as Yemen’s Houthi rebels brought their war with the Saudi Kingdom all too close to the detached bubble of F1.