Three Takeaways from Saudi Arabian Gran Prix Practice

– F1 Faceoff Home –

Mixed Results from Mercedes Power

As Mercedes continues to downplay the concerns with their power unit, one thing is clear: the Mercedes-powered cars are losing time in sectors two and three at Jeddah, which are the high-speed parts of the track. Whether this is due to higher levels of drag on the Mercedes-powered cars, which has been their claim to date, or purely due to the power unit is up for debate.

While Mercedes-powered cars are still lagging behind Ferrari and Red Bull-powered cars overall, Lando Norris made a significant leap in FP2, putting his car into seventh and McLaren as the fourth fastest team overall. Perhaps that is a sign that extenuating circumstances have been driving the struggle of the Mercedes-powered cars and indicates more competitive mid-field racing throughout the season.

Valtteri Bottas on Form

For the second straight week, Valtteri Bottas has over-performed in the Alpha Romeo, finishing free practice one in the top three, ahead of his former Mercedes team. Bottas is clearly enjoying his start to 2022, as he joyfully expressed how much he is loving the Ferrari engine to start the season. With this top performance, Bottas remains a great pick in your DraftKings lineup and has the potential to aim for a top-six this weekend.

Alpha Tauri Competing for the Top of the Midfield but Experiencing Engine Problems

We already saw the Alpha Tauri drivers remaining competitive in Bahrain, with Pierre Gasly putting his car in sixth before retiring with an engine failure. In practice, they seemed to take an extra step forward, with both drivers placing their cars in the top six in FP1, ahead of Sergio Perez and ahead of all Mercedes-powered cars.

The Alpha Tauri also run the Red Bull Power Train engine, which in theory provides them opportunities to make passes down the straight, but they had another failure today during FP2 with Yuki Tsunoda coming to a stop at the end of the session. What was initially a good sign could become a long weekend for Alpha Tauri.

Follow @FantasyAustin and the hashtag #F1Faceoff on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the best pivots throughout the weekend.

– Formula 1 Best Bets: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix –

– Formula 1 DraftKings Picks: Saudi Arabia Grand Prix –

Sign up for BetUS today with the promo code FACEOFF and get a 125% match on your first deposit! Join here.