The F1 circus travels to Saudi Arabia for the fifth round of the season in Jeddah, with Sky Sports making a change to their presenting line-up for the Grand Prix weekend
Ted Kravitz will be missing from Sky Sports’ coverage of this weekend’s Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. The fifth race of the season will be held in Jeddah on Sunday evening, with McLaren’s Lando Norris hoping to extend his advantage at the top of the championship.
Norris leads team-mate Oscar Piastri by just three points after the Australian won last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix. McLaren are expected to dominate in Saudi this weekend, at a track that has consistently thrown up thrilling races.
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are the three men to have won under the lights in Jeddah. Red Bull are currently on a three-year run as the winning constructor, though that is likely to change this weekend.
Sky will offer UK viewers comprehensive coverage of the Grand Prix, as they do for every race of the F1 season. Kravitz has been a key member of Sky’s team since 2012 when he joined the broadcaster from BBC Sport. Working as a pitlane reporter, Kravitz delivers regular updates during sessions of each team’s strategy. He also hosts the popular Ted’s Notebook programme after each session of a Grand Prix weekend.
But he has now revealed that he will not be attending the Saudi Grand Prix this year. Kravtiz also confirmed that the Notebook would not be broadcast with a replacement host and will instead return with the Miami Grand Prix in May.
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He said: “It’s the Saudi Grand Prix on the 18th, 19th and 20th of April. I won’t be there – it’s my first of this year’s races where I’m not on site. So the Notebook will return at the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May.”
Kravtiz’s absence is not a surprise, with the reporter also missing last year’s Saudi Grand Prix in line with the terms of his contract. With 24 races across the year, each Sky broadcaster misses races to take time off.
This weekend’s race is set to be hot and dry during what is the second night-time Grand Prix of the season. Free Practice One begins at 2.30pm on Friday, with qualifying at 6pm on Saturday and the race getting underway at 6pm on Sunday.
Jeddah hosts the fastest street circuit in the world and the second-fastest track on the F1 calendar. The cars will average around 250km/h over the course of the race, while navigating 27 corners – the most on the F1 calendar.
The majority of those are taken at full speed, with 75 percent of a lap spent at full speed. It is a track Norris is looking forward to taking on as he looks to bounce back from a disappointing Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I’m excited to head back to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend. It’s a really fast track and we have a quick car, so we’ll be aiming to finish this triple-header strongly,” he said.
“I’m proud with how we’ve started the season. We’ve celebrated our success but also come together as a team to debrief and take away our learnings ahead of the next race. I’m feeling good and look forward to going racing again this weekend.”
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