And on to Jeddah. Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Formula 1

Ahhhh there is nothing quite like the street course known as Jeddah Corniche Circuit. But why is it such a traffic jam every year?

It truly is an awesome street circuit, super fast, some great turns, and looks awesome at night as you can see from the photo. It's also one of the absolute most dangerous to drive. Especially during Free Practice sessions and Qualifying.

It's only been on the F1 race list for 3 years, this weekend being the 4th, but the drivers love it, and....also hate it. Because it is a street track, the track itself is lined with barriers and fences, and with a lot of blind corners it's tough to know what lays ahead. In practice and in qualifying, a lot of the drivers run rather slowly as they recharge their batteries, make setting adjustments on their steering wheels, and can often wander into the racing line. They have to rely upon their engineers more so than usual so they know who is coming up behind, and who might be lollygagging ahead as they put in a push lap. Should be easy right? You got a spotter looking at screens with video, track maps showing where cars are, section times, speed, and more. They should be able to make you aware of any issues in the immediate vicinity, right?? One would think, but with the unreal speeds, the erratic nature of drivers at times, it becomes a destination ripe for destruction.

As a fan, I love that track. I love watching them race there. It's one of the most technical tracks they go to in a season, and I love how its lit up at night. What I don't love is the bumper to bumper traffic that always ends up happening, especially during qualifying. It ruins drivers laps, and causes unnecessary jeopardy. The FIA and the organizers for the Saudi Grand Prix need to figure out a better system. Maybe split Q1 into two halves? Q1A and Q1B? Those in Q1B would benefit though from a more ramped up and grippier circuit. Change the maximum out lap and cool down lap times? I believe they tried that and it hasn't worked, at least not yet.

After today's practice sessions, it was very apparent that communication issues, and cars driving too slowly are still an issue. I just hope they can fix it before something really awful happens. (Search for Mick Schuhmachers qualifying crash there in 2022 and you will see what I mean. And he wasn't even close to anyone else, luckily)

Watch for Alonso, and Perez tomorrow in Qualifying. They love street circuits, and it shows. Verstappen might be looking at one of their rear wings when it comes to lights out time on Saturday. Bring on Jeddah!