SV5 MASTERS THE CARNAGE AT JEDDAH SEASON OPENER
The Saudi Arabian GP kicked off the new season in brutal fashion, with SV5 taking a commanding win under the lights of Jeddah ahead of Bards and his teammate Selecta. The podium set the tone for a chaotic opener that was a likely scenario for Jeddah, more so when cockpit cam is forced...
From pole, SV5 looked razor-sharp in his new Racing Bulls machinery, especially with the usual title heavyweights Jordan and Mejg absent, leaving the spotlight wide open. When the lights went out, that spotlight turned into a floodlight of chaos almost instantly. A massive first-lap incident at Turn 3 saw Justin clatter into NaeDangerDavid, with Elche also collected, triggering the first safety car and causing widespread damage down the field. Gordini was among those carrying wounds for the rest of the race, nursing underbody damage but somehow surviving it, having to pit on hards to change wing, which turned out to be a good choice with the second safety car.
Up front, SV5, Bards in the Williams, and Rollie formed a tight DRS train once things settled, with Selecta briefly trying to hang onto them before the rhythm of the race took over. Rollie looked genuinely quick and comfortable, ironically in the one race where cockpit cam was mandatory and supposedly in his favor. That made his Turn 4 crash all the more surreal, one of the rare DNFs of his A1881 career, and something he could only laugh about afterward.
Rian suffered an almost identical fate around lap 15, straight after pitting. Fresh tyres, extra grip, and a fraction too much steering input sent him into the wall, breaking his suspension. His stranded Haas then became an unwilling test subject when Bobow checked whether ghosting was on. It wasn’t, earning Bobow his first ever eggplant in the league.
From there, the race increasingly became SV5’s to lose. He controlled the pace expertly, only briefly losing DRS to Bards around lap 23 before reasserting himself and pulling clear. Behind them, Selecta drove a composed race to complete a double podium for Racing Bulls, while Tvoje_mamkacz delivered a quietly strong drive in the Mercedes to take fourth.
Gordini’s recovery to fifth after early damage was one of the standout survival stories, while Yeshurrun showed clear signs of what he can do in competitive machinery, bringing the Red Bull home sixth. Johnnyregazzoni, stepping in as a wildcard for Rothnz in Ferrari, kept it clean in a race where that alone was an achievement, finishing seventh ahead of Dunce, who once again showed consistency amid chaos for Aston Martin, despite being the victim of his own teamamte Javinwain under SC.
Energetic, reserving in the Haas, made it to the chequered flag in ninth, followed by SCR_FTronc in the second Red Bull. Crunchypancake brought the Ferrari home in eleventh after avoiding the worst of the incidents.
From that point on, the attrition rate told the real story of the night. Scaparro’s weekend was especially frustrating, having shown Q3 pace before crashing on his outlap in qualifying and later repeating the Turn 4 mistake in the race. Sir Ibbo’s McLaren also failed to see the finish also he did try his best to carry on with red rear wing, as did Justin after his role in the opening-lap chaos, Javinwain in the Aston Martin, Elche in the McLaren, and NaeDangerDavid in the Alpine, bringing the total retirements to nine.
With Racing Bulls starting the season perfectly and SV5 laying down an early marker, attention now turns to Monza next week, which will host the only Sprint race of the season. If Jeddah was any indication, keeping control of the narrative — and the car — will be everything.
