It was a difficult weekend for the sport last time out with headlines dominated by events off-track before Max Verstappen dominated the race come Saturday evening.
The saga surrounding Christian Horner is likely to rumble on this week but focus is increasingly returning to understanding where each team sits in the 2024 pecking order.
There is no doubt Red Bull is at the top of the tower, but just where Mercedes stacks up versus Ferrari is a mystery following a cooling issue that robbed the three-pointed star of a stronger result last weekend.
Then there’s McLaren, which is tipped to excel on the fast Jeddah circuit, the MCL38 thought to carry many of the highspeed strengths of its predecessor.
At RB it will be fascinating to see how the relationship between Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda sits after their clash in Bahrain when the team issued team orders, much to Tsunoda’s frustration.
Away from F1, Formula 2 is also on the programme, as is the opening round of the F1 Academy season.
When is the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
A second straight Saturday night race awaits, meaning track action begins on Thursday with two practice sessions.
Those start later in the afternoon with the Saudi Arabian GP also a night race.
That sees FP1 get going at 16:30 local time on Thursday (00:30 AEDT Friday) with the second 60-minute session at 20:00 (04:00 AEDT).
Timings are the same for FP3 and Qualifying, beginning at 16:30 and 20:00, respectively on Friday before the 50-lap Saturday night race gets underway at 20:00 local time.
| THURSDAY 7th MARCH | Local time | |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East | First Practice Session | 11:40 – 12:25 |
| FIA Formula 2 | Practice Session | 12:55 – 13:40 |
| F1 Academy | Practice Session | 14:05 – 14:45 |
| FORMULA 1 | FIRST PRACTICE SESSION | 16:30 – 17:30 |
| Air Display | Saudi Hawks Air Display | 17:30 – 18:00 |
| FIA Formula 2 | Qualifying Session | 18:00 – 18:30 |
| FORMULA 1 | SECOND PRACTICE SESSION | 20:00 – 21:00 |
| F1 Academy | Qualifying Session | 21:30 – 22:00 |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East | Second Practice Session | 22:25 – 23:10 |
| FRIDAY 8th MARCH | ||
| Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East | Qualifying Session | 14:05 – 14:35 |
| F1 Academy | First Race (13 Laps, Max 30 Mins +1 Lap) | 15:10 – 15:45 |
| FORMULA 1 | THIRD PRACTICE SESSION | 16:30 – 17:30 |
| FIA Formula 2 | Sprint Race (20 Laps or 45 Mins +1 Lap) | 18:10 – 19:00 |
| FORMULA 1 | QUALIFYING SESSION | 20:00 – 21:00 |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East | First Race (11 Laps or 25 Mins) | 22:05 – 22:35 |
| SATURDAY 9th MARCH | ||
| Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East | Second Race (11 Laps or 25 Mins) | 13:50 – 14:20 |
| F1 Academy | Second Race (13 Laps, Max 30 Mins +1 Lap) | 15:05 – 15:40 |
| FIA Formula 2 | Feature Race (28 Laps or 60 Mins +1 Lap) | 16:25 – 17:30 |
| FORMULA 1 | GRAND PRIX (50 LAPS OR 120 MINS) | 20:00 – 22:00 |
How can I watch the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Channel: Fox Sports 506
Fox Sports is the only broadcaster carrying coverage of the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
There is no free-to-air coverage or highlights of the event in Australia.
Coverage begins with opening practice from midnight AEDT on Friday morning evening and carries through with coverage of Formula 2 qualifying ahead of Free Practice 2 coverage from 03:45 AEDT on Friday morning.
Track action is then back on screen from 23:05 AEDT Friday evening with F1 Academy prior to Free Practice 3 just after midnight AEDT on Saturday morning.
It’s then time for Formula 2 Sprint action ahead of F1 qualifying coverage, the build-up to which begins at 03:10 AEDT on Saturday morning.
The race day broadcast begins with the F1 Academy race at 23:00 AEDT before the Formula 2 Feature and the pre-race festivities for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from 02:30 AEDT.
Friday, March 8
Practice 1, 00:00 AEDT
Fox Sports (Channel 506), Kayo Sports
Practice 2, 03:45 AEDT
Fox Sports (Channel 506), Kayo Sports
Saturday, March 9
Practice 3, 00:10 AEDT
Fox Sports (Channel 506), Kayo Sports
Qualifying, 03:55 AEDT
Fox Sports (Channel 506), Kayo Sports
Sunday, March 10
Race, 03:55 AEDT
Fox Sports (Channel 506), Kayo Sports
Can I stream the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on subscription streaming services Foxtel Go and Kayo.
What tyre compounds are in use at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
What is the weather for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
Entry List
| Num | Driver | Team | ||
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | ||
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | ||
| 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | ||
| 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | ||
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | ||
| 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | ||
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | ||
| 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | ||
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | ||
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | ||
| 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | ||
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | ||
| 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | ||
| 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | ||
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri RB | ||
| 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri RB | ||
| 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake Sauber | ||
| 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Stake Sauber | ||
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | ||
| 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | ||
Drivers’ Championship
| Pos | Driver | Pts | |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 26 | |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | 18 | |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | 15 | |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | 12 | |
| 5 | George Russell | 10 | |
| 6 | Lando Norris | 8 | |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | 6 | |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | 6 | |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | 4 | |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | 1 | |
| 11 | Zhou Guanyu | 0 | |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | 0 | |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | 0 | |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | 0 | |
| 15 | Alex Albon | 0 | |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | 0 | |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | 0 | |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | 0 | |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | 0 | |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | 0 | |
Constructors’ Championship
| Pos | Constructor | Pts | |
| 1 | Red Bull Racing | 44 | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 27 | |
| 3 | Mercedes | 16 | |
| 4 | McLaren | 12 | |
| 5 | Aston Martin | 3 | |
| 6 | Sauber | 0 | |
| 7 | Haas | 0 | |
| 8 | RB | 0 | |
| 9 | Williams | 0 | |
| 10 | Alpine | 0 | |
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