Formula 1: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix predictions & tips with 25/1 RAB!
Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
The curtain was raised on the 2023 Formula 1 season back in Bahrain and Max Verstappen began his second World Drivers’ Championship defence with an emphatic win.
Now, Verstappen will look to continue his dominance in Jeddah as he targets successive Saudi Arabian Grand Prix victories and we are back with a host of tips for the weekend.
All of these tips are priced up with bet365 and SkyBet, where new customers can sign up below to receive up free bets to use on this weekend’s sporting action.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix track guide
Debut season – 2021
Track length – 6.17km
Number of turns – 27
Most wins – Lewis Hamilton & Max Verstappen (1)
Most poles – Lewis Hamilton & Sergio Perez (1)
2022 winner – Max Verstappen
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix debuted in 2021, with the Jeddah Corniche Circuit named as the fastest street circuit on the calendar.
The cars average around 250km/h around Jeddah and viewers are treated to a series of extremely fast turns and perilous near-misses with the wall, which has already resulted in some huge crashes despite its short stint on the calendar.
Last year we saw Verstappen and Charles Leclerc playing a game of ‘DRS chicken’ heading into Turn 27 but the DRS Detection Zone has been moved to avoid a repeat of that situation, while the banked Turn 13 is one of the key overtaking spots on the circuit.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix predictions & tips
Max Verstappen to be fastest qualifier and to win race
In what is likely to be a recurrent theme of the 2023 season, Max Verstappen looks absolutely dominant and it’s hard to see anybody stopping him in Jeddah.
The reigning world champion finished almost 12 seconds clear of his teammate in Bahrain and some 38 seconds ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso. What’s more, judging by the team radio messages telling Verstappen and Perez to back off, the Red Bulls were not even showing their full potential, either.
We picked up where we left off in FP1 and FP2 in Jeddah, with Verstappen topping the timing charts and Perez behind him. He was half a second clear of Perez and seven-tenths from Alonso in FP1 and was a couple of tenths up on Alonso in FP2’s qualifying simulations.
To make matters even better, last year’s runner-up Charles Leclerc will take a ten-place grid penalty after switching out parts of his engine after his Bahrain failure.
This looks set for another of what is likely to be many weekends of Max Verstappen domination.
Fernando Alonso to finish on the podium
Fernando Alonso claimed his 99th podium in Formula 1 in Bahrain and the veteran two-time champion will be hoping to celebrate reaching triple figures come Sunday.
The Aston Martin impressed in the season opener and showed it was no fluke in the practice sessions in Saudi Arabia, with Alonso and Stroll third and fourth in FP1 and some way clear of the Mercedes duo behind them.
Alonso was almost three-tenths ahead of teammate Stroll in FP1 and possesses arguably the best racecraft on the grid. If anybody can steer this Aston Martin to another podium, it’s him.
Both cars to be classified: McLaren – No
It’s looking like a bit of a nightmare season for McLaren and I would not be surprised to see it continue on Sunday.
Oscar Piastri was forced to retire in his debut F1 race after just 13 laps in Bahrain and Lando Norris spent the race having to pit continuously to refill his hydraulics, eventually finishing two laps off the pace after six pitstops.
Jeddah hasn’t been kind to McLaren, either, with Daniel Ricciardo retiring with mechanical issues last year, the first of four races in which at least one of the McLarens failed to finish the race.
Alonso podium, Stroll top 6 finish & Piastri 1st driver to retire
Alonso’s podium chances have already been discussed after successful Free Practice sessions on Friday and teammate Lance Stroll also impressed.
Stroll finished sixth in Bahrain despite racing with a recently broken wrist but the Canadian seems to have recovered well, putting in the fourth fastest time in FP1. The Aston Martin is clearly an excellent car and Leclerc’s ten-place grid penalty further plays into their hands as they shoot for an unlikely silver medal in the Constructors’ Championship.
Meanwhile, at McLaren, their reliability looks poor after Bahrain, with Piastri retiring after 13 laps and Norris enduring hydraulic fluid issues for the entire race. Norris was slowest in FP1 and Piastri second-slowest in FP2, so things don’t seem to be improving for Zak Brown and company.
At 25/1, this looks a fantastic prospect.
Build better bets with our free betting tips, predictions and accumulators, every day.
Experts’ Best Bets – 28/1 acca for Saturday
Sky Super 6 predictions with 66/1 match result acca
Prem Props: 32/1 player specials treble for Saturday
Today’s football tips & accumulators
Free Super Tips is the home of Free Football Tips. Make sure to take a look at our most popular betting tips, such as our Accumulator Tips and Both Teams To Score Tips.