Lando Norris handed fresh advantage due to crash disaster

Lando Norris will take a silver lining from his untimely crash during the final part of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Whilst the shunt ended his session early and consigned him to 10th on the grid at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the McLaren driver does consequently have a fresh set of soft tyres to call upon during the race, having not completed a second run in Q3.

It will be a particular advantage to the Briton in the event of a late safety car, as he looks to work his way back through the pack to limit the damage Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and George Russell can inflict from the front three starting positions.

Although only a small saving grace for the F1 drivers' championship leader, the new red-walled Pirellis could be the difference between a disastrous weekend for the five-time grand prix winner and merely a bad one.

Unfortunately for Norris, however, whilst there has been a safety car deployment at each Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - since it debuted on the calendar in 2021 - there has never been an intervention that has run past lap 20 of the 50-lap race.

Elsewhere, most of the top 10 have two sets of hard tyres and one yellow medium compound to utilise in Jeddah, as well as a wealth of used soft rubber.

Carlos Sainz, already well positioned in sixth, will conversely have two medium sets and one lot of hard tyres to make use of.

Williams team-mate Alex Albon, who starts P11, is in the same position as the Spanish driver - with the additional set of new soft tyres for not reaching Q3.

Which strategies are in play?

Even though the Pirelli range is one step softer than at this round last season, and the race is later in the year, F1's sole tyre supplier still expects the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to safely be a one-stop race.

Therefore, the soft compound is likely only going to come into play for most runners in the event of the aforementioned late safety car.

Interestingly, all 11 laps of virtual safety car running in Jeddah since the first race in 2021 have come after lap 20, meaning those with fresh red-walled tyres might be able to take the opportunity to switch to a late two-stopper if there is a VSC period.

Given the high-speed nature and close proximity of the walls around the track, there will be a higher probability of a red flag throughout the duration of the race, something that would also advantage those with more strategic freedom.

Jack Doohan, Esteban Ocon and the two Stake drivers of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto each have two sets of soft Pirellis to draw upon.

This could sway them to consider starting on the red-walled compound, which will give them an advantage off the line. From there, they can make the conventional one-stop race work with a second stint on hard tyres.