Watch the Formula 1 Saudi GP This Sunday on SuperSport
The 2023 formula one season is back this week with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. The great news is that Nigerians can enjoy watching the race from the comfort of their homes on SuperSport MotorSport.
The activities on the Jeddah race track started earlier this week with the first round of training and will come to a head on Sunday. The drivers will have the qualifying race on Saturday. The race will determine the order the cars will line up for the main round, with the fastest qualifier starting at the front and the slowest at the back.
After the last race, all eyes will be on Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who recorded his 36th career win and his first at Bahrain. He also won last year’s race at Jeddah, so it would be interesting to see how he does this time. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the star of the Bahrain GP, will also be under pressure to perform brilliantly in the 50-lap race.
However, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who maintained the top-3 position at Bahrain till his control unit spoiled and grounded him to a stop at the 41st lap, is in for an uphill battle this Sunday. He will receive a grid penalty that will make him have at least a 10-place grid drop this Sunday. Ferrari had to change out his car’s control unit for the third time this season, even though they are allowed to do that only twice. If they make any other changes in the car, he may be looking at a farther starting point. With him being 25 points behind Verstappen, who is at the top of the season’s table, he has his work cut out for him.
Experts forecast the most significant competition between Max Verstappen and his Red Bull counterpart Sergio Perez, who came second in the Bahrain race. Fans and experts alike will also look out for Lewis Hamilton, who won the Saudi Arabia GP race for Mercedes in 2021, leading from start to finish.
The Jeddah race track is 308.450km, which is about 50 laps. The 27-turn Corniche layout is also the second longest on the calendar, about 800m shorter than Belgium’s Spa, and the fastest street circuit running along the shores of the Red Sea.
Red Bull had the fastest cars in a straight line last year, with Perez clocking a top speed of 335.1kph in qualifying, and the Red Bull drivers have led every lap so far this season (in qualifying and actual races).
All fans can watch the race at 6 pm on Sunday on SuperSport MotorSport (DStv ch. 215). Formula 1 lovers who cannot gain access to the MotorSport channel because they are on a lower package than Premium or Compact Plus can take advantage of the Step Up offer.
The Saudi Arabia and Australia GP will air on Compact Plus, but subscribers must upgrade to Premium to continue enjoying the season. The Step Up offer, available till the end of March, encourages subscribers to upgrade their subscription to the next higher package, and DStv will take them even higher. For instance, if you upgrade from Compact to Compact Plus, DStv will automatically boost you to Premium, where you get an all-access pass to the world of Formula 1 sport.
To subscribe or upgrade and be a part of the excitement, visit dstv. You can stream the live action on the DStv Now App if you’re always on the go.
