Saudi Arabian GP: 5 questions that need answers this weekend in Jeddah

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix returns for its second edition this weekend as Formula 1 heads to the Jeddah Street Circuit.

The 2021, and inaugural, race around the streets of the Saudi city certainly provided drama in abundance, with it the penultimate race of the season and one that saw Max Verstappen v Lewis Hamilton hit fever pitch.

Now taking place at the other end of the calendar, we can perhaps expect less controversy this weekend but, even so, there’s still plenty to look out for over the course of the coming days.

Here are 5 big questions that need answers in Saudi this weekend…

Will Ferrari keep their foot down?

The Scuderia earned a one-two last weekend in Bahrain, and will be eager to try and build momentum at the start of this season.

They look very strong indeed, but now it’s about staying up near the front and trying to keep those behind them at arm’s length.

Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, then, will be itching to get going once more this weekend.

Can Red Bull bounce back?

It was a torrid weekend for Red Bull in Bahrain in the end, and they’ll be keener than most to be out on track this time around, trying to put their double retirement behind them.

They appear confident that they have identified the issue from last weekend and found a remedy for it, so they should be strong here again.

Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were on for good points last weekend, and will be seeking a repeat of that.

Will McLaren improve?

Arguably, McLaren had the most disappointing weekend of all in Bahrain as they ran around near the back-end of the field and never really looked like threatening the points.

Lando Norris said post-race that fans and the team should ‘expect pain’ over the coming weeks as the fixes they