Fernando Alonso: "The car felt very good in Bahrain, and we enjoyed our weekend scoring our first podium of the season. But we have now shifted all our focus to this weekend and Jeddah. It will be a very different challenge there as it is a completely different circuit to what we experienced in the opening race. We spent two weeks in Bahrain, and all became very familiar with the circuit and conditions so the learning curve from this Friday will be a lot steeper.

"Realistically I do not think it will be until after Australia that we will know better where the overall performance stands, as by then we will have had three very different race weekends on varied circuits in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Our feet remain on the ground and hard work is needed to maintain this start and try to get another strong result this weekend."

Lance Stroll: "I was really pleased with our performance in Bahrain, so we need to do our best to bring that positive momentum into the second race of the year in Saudi Arabia. As always, the first few races of the season are about learning the intricacies of the new car. The circuit in Jeddah is completely different to that in Bahrain, so it offers us an invaluable opportunity to collect more data and deepen our understanding of the AMR23.

"Jeddah Corniche Circuit is an incredibly fast track, and the fastest street circuit on the calendar, so it is great fun to drive but also a real challenge. We have seen Safety Cars on both occasions that we have raced in Saudi Arabia, so we need to ensure we are ready to capitalise on any opportunities that come our way."

Insight and Speed with Cognizant

Race interruptions: With its fast nature and walls in close proximity, there has unsurprisingly been no shortage of interruptions in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix's short history. The inaugural race featured two red flags and four Virtual Safety Cars. Last year's event had just one Safety Car and two VSCs.

Strategy: The C2, C3 and C4 compounds, which were used last year, return and are a step softer than the trio of tyre options featured in Bahrain. Strategy is often dictated by incidents in the race, meaning teams need to be prepared for late calls into the pits for a change of tyres.

Overtaking: While Jeddah Corniche Circuit features 27 corners, more than any other circuit on the calendar, there are just two significant overtaking opportunities. Turns One and 27 account for 89 per cent of all passes to date. A short run to T1 at the start limits opening lap overtaking.