What tyre strategies will be in play at the Saudi Arabian GP?

The fourth-ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place on Saturday evening in Jeddah, with Max Verstappen taking the start from pole position.

Joining him on the front row will be Charles Leclerc, marking the third consecutive race that the duo have started from first and second respectively.

Verstappen's mighty pole position effort was eight-tenths of a second faster than last year's time.

The three-time World Champion is targeting his 56th Grand Prix win under the lights in Jeddah - but what strategy is he likely to take?

Low degradation

Degradation will be much less of a factor in Saudi Arabia this weekend compared to the season-opener in Bahrain, with a huge difference in track surface existing between the two circuits.

Pirelli is adamant that a one-stop strategy will likely be seen across the board, barring anyone who opts to roll the dice.

The Italian marque has brought the C2, C3 and C4 compounds to the circuit with the latter delivering the fastest laps in qualifying on Friday.

Pirelli has stated that starting on the C4 is an option for the opening laps before switching to the C2 to take them to the end of the race.

However, the quickest strategy appears to be using the middle C3 tyre for the start of the race and swapping to the C2 between laps 18 and 25.

Alternatively, taking the C2 for the opening stint is also a possibility, but this would likely be done so in the hope of a Safety Car (the chance of which is high around the track) before pitting for the C4 between laps 25 and 32.