2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Charles Leclerc leads the Drivers’ Championship by eight points from teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and eleven from Lewis Hamilton after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Ferrari leads Mercedes by 17 points and Haas by a further 17 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Previous race

Leclerc won the season opener in Bahrain ahead of Sainz; the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Pérez both retired in the closing laps with fuel system issues. Hamilton finished third.

Entrants

Sebastian Vettel remains absent from Aston Martin, replaced by Nico Hülkenberg for a second consecutive race while Vettel continues to recover from coronavirus.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the C2, C3, and C4 compounds (hard, medium, soft) — a step softer than the C1–C3 selection used at Bahrain.

Practice

An Aramco oil depot approximately 16 km from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit was struck by drones and missiles on Friday afternoon, triggering a large fire visible from the paddock during the first practice session. Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility. The second practice session was delayed by 15 minutes while drivers, team principals, and Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali held an emergency meeting. The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association convened a further meeting at 22:00; after four and a half hours of talks, all drivers agreed to continue. According to the BBC, drivers were warned of “the consequences of not racing,” which reportedly included potentially being denied exit visas in the event of a boycott. Formula One and the race organisers announced the event would continue as planned.

Charles Leclerc topped all three practice sessions ahead of Max Verstappen. Both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. hit the wall during the second session and were forced to end their runs early.