Van der Garde looks ahead: 'Mercedes has the upper hand'

The F1 drivers have already driven their first metres on the brand new circuit in Saudi Arabia. Undoubtedly the track conditions will change more and more in the coming hours and days. One thing is for sure though: it promises to be an exciting battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis at an advantage

Hamilton is generally expected to be the big favourite in Jeddah, although Verstappen was very much in the mix during the first free practice. "Those guys are a close match," said former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde in an interview with GPblog, ahead of the first free practice. "It's been like that all year. I think Mercedes has the upper hand in Saudi Arabia. But Max is still a few points ahead."

Van der Garde thinks Verstappen could well win this weekend but takes umbrage at the words 'some luck'. He stated, "if you look purely at the form of Lewis Hamilton, I expect him to go for the win. Despite it being a new circuit and everyone coming here for the first time. If Max sets the fastest lap of the race and comes second, he will be a few points ahead of Lewis. And that's important. He just needs to consistently perform at his maximum. If he wins, that would be absolutely fantastic. That would really be great, great, great."

A bit of Baku

In Jeddah, the cars are going very fast, with the fences short on the track. "It's a nice, challenging circuit," said Van der Garde. "It's a bit like Baku. I hope the drivers are enjoying themselves. It has only just been finished and you know that in countries like this there is a lot of sand (on the track). We also don't know how the asphalt is if there is much or little grip. I'm curious about it in the coming days."