F1 LIVE | The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Welcome to the live blog of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix! At 6pm, the lights go out. In the liveblog below you can read live updates on the race, which starts with Sergio Perez on pole position.

LIVE: The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Perez surprised

For Sergio Perez it will be a night to remember. The Mexican will start from pole position for the first time in his long career. The Red Bull driver surprised friend and foe Saturday night with a super-fast lap. He trumped not only the Ferrari's of Charles Leclerc (2nd) and Carlos Sainz (3rd), Perez did the same with teammate Max Verstappen. The Dutchman did not get his tyres optimal and had to settle for a fourth time.

For Verstappen, there are still plenty of chances for a good result. For Lewis Hamilton it will probably be a lot harder. The seven-time champion struggled in qualifying and didn't get further than P16.

Track Guide of Jeddah Corniche Circuit

Safety car seems certain

With the walls always close by, it seems a certainty that during the race the safety car will be seen on track once. A mistake is easily made in Jeddah, as Mick Schumacher experienced yesterday during qualifying. The German hit the wall hard and has to let the race pass him by. As a result, 19 drivers will start.

The race in Saudi Arabia will be held on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The goal of the organisation was to have the fastest street circuit on the calendar, finding a mix between Monaco and Baku. The circuit has very tight corners, but the speed never drops to very low speeds due to the angle of the corners. In a simulation, the circuit proved to be the fastest on the F1 calendar, with an average speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

The circuit, like so many circuits on the F1 calendar, was designed by Hermann Tilke. F1's in-house architect was brought in again to design and came up with the street circuit that is 6,174 metres long and has 27 turns. The circuit is lined with floodlights, so the drivers race in the dark.

Nevertheless, Tilke's design was also criticised, as the combination of high speed, blind corners and a narrow track created a particularly high risk of huge crashes. In 2021 the damage was not too bad, but there were some moments when things could have turned out differently. It remains to be seen whether the planned changes will improve on this.