Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula One Team Principal Fred Vasseur says the team are ready for the final two races of the season starting with this weekend’s inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Speaking ahead of the race, Vasseur said:
The team is ready as we enter the final stretch of the season. We head to Saudi Arabia with the curiosity that always occurs when a new track makes it to the calendar, and the confidence in our means as we aim to get back to scoring ways. Qatar was a bit of an outlier in which we didn’t have the same pace we showed after the summer break, but we know we can be back fighting for top ten placements on both Saturday and Sunday in Jeddah. As always, we will need to do a good job straight from FP1 to maximise our chances, but even more so on a completely new track: every minute will be crucial to gather information about the circuit, the tyres and every other factor that will have an impact on qualifying and the race.”
Frederic Vasseur
Kimi Raikkonen who is gearing up for his final two Grand Prix is looking forward to getting on the new track but is reserving judgement saying:
We are heading to another new track and, like last time out in Doha, preparing for the race in the most effective way will be crucial. The track looks fast and, as a street circuit, it’s a place where you need to be focused all the time: I am curious to drive it and won’t form an opinion about it until then. It’s going to be interesting and I don’t see any reason, if we do our job properly, why we wouldn’t be as competitive as we have been in the last few months. For sure, part of what will make or break a good result will be our readiness to make the most of the circumstances, but that’s not different from every other weekend
Kimi Raikkonen
Antonio Giovinazzi is also looking forward to the race this weekend, the Italian heads to Saudi Arabia having made his ABB FIA Formula E debut earlier this week during pre-season testing as he prepares to move to the series with Dragon Penske.
Speaking ahead of the race he said:
Two more races until the end of the season means two chances to have a good result to finish off the year with a smile. The last few weeks have been quite busy for me, but I find this keeps me focused and fired up for this weekend of racing. The track in Jeddah is a big question mark for everyone, nobody has raced on it so, in a sense, we are all starting from scratch here. It can be an opportunity for us and we’ll need to do our homework to make sure we give ourselves the best chance. It’s early to say if this layout will work well for us or not, but I want to think we can give a good account of ourselves.
Antonio Giovinazzi
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