Aston Martin team principal, Saudi athletes talk about F1 ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix
JEDDAH: Fans around the world are eagerly awaiting Saudi Arabia’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix taking place this Sunday, including some notable Saudi professional athletes.
“It is a momentous event for the country,” said Husein Alireza, the Saudi professional rower. “Everyone flew in, there’s a real buzz in the air, you understand? We haven’t had this enthusiasm for a long time.
“I think we’re used to hosting people from all over the world – Jeddah has long been the social capital, it’s a tourist hotspot. We have the Red Sea and the people in Jeddah are very relaxed and hospitable. ”
“I think it’s a great way for any tourist to experience a new place for the first time – to explore the world of sport,” said Dania Akeel, professional Saudi racing driver. “You get the action, you get the social aspect, you get entertainment and you can experience excellence at the highest level.”
The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition was unveiled for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AN Photo / Huda Bashatah)
At the start of the Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition in Jeddah, Arab News had the opportunity to speak to some Saudi professional athletes along with Otmar Szafnauer, Aston Martin F1 Team Principal, about their predictions for the long-awaited Jeddah race.
“I think we’ll do a really good job in Jeddah, the track looks incredibly fast and like nothing else on the calendar, so it should be fun,” said Szafnauer. “Lance (Stroll) is making progress from year to year. He’s on the steep part of the learning curve and had a great race in Doha. ”
Szafnauer, a Romanian-American engineer, was greeted at the presentation of the Aston Martin car by Ali Alireza, who gave Szafnauer a special sword, for which the team boss thanked him and jokingly said: “This will be useful for future negotiations with the drivers prove. “.”
Ali Alireza, Managing Director of Haji Husein Alireza & Co., gives Otmar Szafnauer, Aston Martin F1 Team Principal, a sword. (AN Photo / Huda Bashatah)
“Sebastian (Vettel) has brought a lot of winning experience to the team and the know-how you need to win – not just races, but also world championships, and he has improved our game quite a bit, but because of the rule change, we really are one Step back. ”
Due to COVID-19, F1 racing cars from 2020 were carried over to this season with very few technical adjustments. However, there were aerodynamic rule changes set by the FIA that robbed the performance of Aston Martin’s low-rake car and hampered its performance that year.
“It was too late, and that’s not a driver’s business, it’s more a question of car development,” said Szafnauer. “When these rule changes were about to happen, we couldn’t really do anything.”
As a result, Aston Martin had to put some of its 2022 resources on this year’s car in an attempt to fix what was left of the season to no avail.
“But next year is a whole new year, all the rules (will) even be the playing field for everyone,” he added.
Professional Saudi racing driver Dania Akeel speaks to Arab News about Sunday’s big race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AN Photo / Huda Bashatah)
Akeel said many factors currently at play will determine this season’s champion. Regardless of what changes have been made to the engine to improve its performance, the human element in the driver is always a key factor.
“You know the truth is, I don’t prefer a driver, but I prefer incredible driving skills. Every driver delivers a certain finesse, technique, a certain decision-making process that cannot be compared, ”she said.
“One driver will blow you away in the rain, another driver will come all the way up from the end of the grid, another driver will show you his resilience in defending his position. Every driver behaves differently in curves, when overtaking, on straights. And of course that doesn’t mean that the team has such a big influence. “
Dania Akeel made history when she became the first Arab woman to win the T3 title at the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Bajas this year. She made a remarkable comeback after suffering a serious injury earlier this year.
Akeel told Arab News that despite having had three pelvic fractures while participating in the Bahrain rally season, she still plans to compete in the 2022 Dakar Rally, which will be held in Saudi Arabia next January.
Husein Alireza, professional Saudi rower, speaks to Arab News about Sunday’s Formula 1 race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AN Photo / Huda Bashatah)
Alireza, who competed in the men’s rowing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, competed with a damaged lung. Midway through the competition, his team had developed a new ad hoc strategy that enabled him to tackle injury-ridden races where the 28-year-old was unable to perform at his best.
In Formula 1, Alireza had his own opinion about who the crown will go to this season.
“I always go for the underdog and you know, seven years old Hamilton – I love the guy, I supported him at the start, but I would like to see Verstappen win the race. He’s such an exciting, dynamic driver, I love the way he drives, extremely aggressive. And it would be nice to see him win here in Jeddah, that would be cool.
“We’ll see what happens, but I think I’ll be on the Verstappen team in this case,” he concluded.
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