Perez fears big crash at “very dangerous” Jeddah F1 track

The high-speed nature of the new venue, combined with its tight layout and proximity of the walls, has resulted in a number of close shaves throughout the three practice sessions and qualifying. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a hefty crash in FP2, before Nikita Mazepin had to take evasive action to avoid a terrifying shunt with Lewis Hamilton in final practice. 

In qualifying, Carlos Sainz narrowly escaped a crash following a high-speed spin in his Ferrari, before championship leader Max Verstappen hit the wall at the end of Q3. 

Although Perez is enjoying the challenge of the circuit, he is concerned that the characteristics of the track’s sweeping corners and blind, flat-out sections could result in a serious accident. 

“It’s a really nice circuit,” Perez said. “Very dangerous, though in terms of there is a lot of straights that are turning, cornering and blind corners. 

“I hope nothing happens tomorrow. I feel like it’s too dangerous without a real reason.

“When you look at some of the onboards, it’s quite scary. I really just hope that we don’t see a big shunt out there.

“I just feel the track is a bit too risky without reason, with the speeds that we’re doing and with the deltas around the track from some cars. It’s a bit unnecessary.”

And Perez wants to discuss the situation further after the race to see whether potential changes are needed before F1 returns in March next year. 

“I think we cannot forget the fact that safety has to take priority,” he explained. “I’ve spoken to some of the other drivers and we all kind of think it.

“We are the ones sitting in the car. The speed differences that you tend to see – if something goes wrong, it’s a massive one, you know? Sure, there’s a bit of track character, but it’s something that we’ve got to speak about after the race.

”The track is fantastic, don’t get me wrong. It’s a really nice, cool track to drive. I just feel like it’s very risky, the track. If things go wrong for someone, they can go really wrong.”

Haas rookie Mick Schumacher warned that F1’s backmarkers could “pay the price” in the race if an incident occurred through one of Jeddah’s many unsighted corners. 

“I think that it’s something we will find out tomorrow,” Schumacher said when asked if he felt the circuit was safe for F1. 

“Right now, my first feeling is that if something happens in the front, there’s a high chance that the people in the back will pick it up and depending on what spot that can be at very high speeds.

“If everything goes right, that’s great. But if not then maybe we’ll pay the price. I don’t know right now but let’s hope everything goes well and everybody stays safe.”

Although Daniel Ricciardo admitted the first sector is “a bit sketchy”, the McLaren driver insisted he has not felt “in danger” so far this weekend. 

“That’s where we rely on the team to give us feedback,” he said. “But we know that through those blind corners that we should carry a bit less speed and make sure we are out of the way. 

“A lot of the time it is up to us as well just to be a bit sensible. We know what corners are a bit dangerous, to make sure we’re not a hazard in those ones.

“I can’t say I’ve felt in danger this weekend. Of course, it’s higher intensity because it’s a street circuit and it’s high speed but I haven’t had any concerns.”