Alec Weckström will start the Grand Prix of Jeddah from 17th position after an overnight engine change triggered a grid penalty that has transformed the championship battle.
The Finnish driver, who leads Shaun Torrente by a single point in the world championship, changed his engine between Friday’s sprint races and Saturday morning’s warm-up session. Under F1H2O regulations, the change requires him to start from the back of the grid ahead of only Grant Trask and Cédric Deguisne.
The penalty hands Torrente, who starts from pole position, a crucial advantage in the title race with 20 points available in the Grand Prix and a further 30 at the Sharjah finale.
Stark tops warm-up
Erik Stark set the pace in Saturday morning’s warm-up session with a best lap of 42.533 seconds over 30 laps. The Team Abu Dhabi driver’s time was just over a second slower than Torrente’s pole position lap of 41.444 seconds set in Friday’s qualifying.
Alberto Comparato finished second in the session, 0.111 seconds behind Stark, with Grant Trask third. Championship contenders Rusty Wyatt and Jonas Andersson rounded out the top five.
Torrente set the eighth-fastest time whilst Weckström finished 15th, more than two seconds off the pace, as teams focused on race preparation rather than outright speed.
Stefan Arand, Cédric Deguisne and Damon Cohen did not participate in the session.
Warm-up session times
| Pos | Driver | Best lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Stark | 42.533 | – |
| 2 | Alberto Comparato | 42.644 | +0.111 |
| 3 | Grant Trask | 42.781 | +0.248 |
| 4 | Rusty Wyatt | 43.129 | +0.596 |
| 5 | Jonas Andersson | 43.259 | +0.726 |
| 6 | Marit Strømøy | 43.261 | +0.728 |
| 7 | Peter Morin | 43.402 | +0.869 |
| 8 | Shaun Torrente | 43.493 | +0.960 |
| 9 | Ben Jelf | 44.018 | +1.485 |
| 10 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 44.048 | +1.515 |
| 11 | Sami Seliö | 44.139 | +1.606 |
| 12 | Stefan Hagin | 44.445 | +1.912 |
| 13 | Mansoor Al-Mansoori | 44.565 | +2.032 |
| 14 | Bartek Marszalek | 44.573 | +2.039 |
| 15 | Alec Weckström | 44.611 | +2.078 |
| 16 | Ferdinand Zandbergen | 44.708 | +2.175 |
| 17 | Duarte Benavente | 46.308 | +3.775 |
| 18 | Stefan Arand | – | DNS |
| 19 | Cédric Deguisne | – | DNS |
| 20 | Damon Cohen | – | DNS |
Revised starting grid for Grand Prix
| Pos | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Torrente | Victory Team |
| 2 | Jonas Andersson | Team Sweden |
| 3 | Ferdinand Zandbergen | Red Devil-SMC F1 Team |
| 4 | Peter Morin | China CTIC Team |
| 5 | Bartek Marszalek | Strømøy Racing |
| 6 | Rusty Wyatt | Sharjah Team |
| 7 | Stefan Arand | Sharjah Team |
| 8 | Alberto Comparato | Comparato F1 |
| 9 | Erik Stark | Team Abu Dhabi |
| 10 | Ben Jelf | F1 Atlantic Team |
| 11 | Stefan Hagin | China CTIC Team |
| 12 | Mansoor Al-Mansoori | Team Abu Dhabi |
| 13 | Duarte Benavente | F1 Atlantic Team |
| 14 | Sami Seliö | Red Devil-SMC F1 Team |
| 15 | Marit Strømøy | Strømøy Racing |
| 16 | Alexandre Bourgeot | Maverick Racing |
| 17 | Alec Weckström* | Victory Team |
| 18 | Grant Trask | Team Sweden |
| 19 | Cédric Deguisne | Maverick Racing |
| 20 | Damon Cohen | Comparato F1 |
*Grid penalty for engine change
The Grand Prix starts at 16:05 local time.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
