Lando Norris leads in the second practice session
The second part of the free races
Dark. Dry. Air +28...31C, highway +37...36C
Friday's second training session is a key one during the night weekend in Jeddah. The sun went down, the heat of the day subsided, the wind died down, the track temperature dropped by ten degrees – about the same conditions will be during qualifying and the race. The teams had an hour to decide on the settings and evaluate the effectiveness of the tires – and the riders did not sit in the pits.
A fuel leak was detected on Bortoleto's car before the start of the session. It was not possible to eliminate it quickly, so the Sauber rookie did not leave, missing an important training session.
Just like last week in Bahrain, Pirelli provided the teams with the toughest lineups – C1 in the role of Hard, C2 - Medium and C3 - Soft. Almost everyone started the session with Medium – this line-up will be the main one in the race.
As in the afternoon, the session was replete with minor incidents. Many went off the highway. Stroll spun around, the car flew into the safety zone, but was not injured.
The traffic was getting in the way. In blind turns, the racers bumped into other cars, but they were ready for this and reacted on time. Elbon had to turn away to avoid crashing into Hamilton – the stewards reviewed the incident after the session and left it without consequences.
In the second half of the session, the riders drove on Soft with little fuel. The speeds increased, but the riders preferred to proceed cautiously, gradually increasing their pace.
As the speeds increased, so did the risk. Hadjar, Elbon, Antonelli and Piastri touched the barrier without any visible consequences for the cars, but turned into the pits to check.
Eight minutes before the end of the session, red flags appeared – Yuki Tsunoda crashed his car into the wall at the exit of the last corner after making contact with the barrier at the entrance. The Red Bull driver was not injured and apologized to the team, the car had to be evacuated.
As a result, the session was resumed a minute before its end, the riders went to the track, but not all managed to start a fast lap. Norris tried to overtake Verstappen in the last corner, but Max wouldn't let Lando go and the McLaren driver slowed down.
Lando Norris led the record, completing a lap in 1:28.267 and 0.167 seconds ahead of his teammate.
The second part of the free races
Pilot
The Time Team
Difference
Circles
1. L.Norris
McLaren
1:28.267
-
21
2. O.Piastri
McLaren
1:28.430
+0.163
22
3 . M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:28.547
+0.280
23
4 . S. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:28.749
+0.482
22
5 . K.Sainz
Williams
1:28.942
+0.675
24
6 . Yu.Tsunoda
Red Bull
1:28.963
+0.696
19
7 . d.Russell
Mercedes
1:28.973
+0.706
21
8 . P.Gasli
Alpine
1:29.106
+0.839
22
9 . N.Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:29.193
+0.926
21
10. A.Elbon
Williams
1:29.220
+0.953
23
11. K.Antonelli
Mercedes
1:29.242
+0.975
16
12. A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
1:29.306
+1.039
17
13. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:29.371
+1.104
23
14. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:29.488
+1.221
22
15. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
1:29.662
+1.395
18
16. O. Berman
Haas
1:29.754
+1.487
19
17. D.Duane
Alpine
1:29.912
+1.645
21
18. L.Stroll
Aston Martin
1:30.007
+1.740
18
19. E.Okon
Haas
1:30.019
+1.752
22
20. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
Without time
The first part of the free races
Clear. Dry. It's windy. Air +28C, highway +50...45C
The first training session in Jeddah at sunset allows you to see this beautiful and dangerous track on the shores of the Red Sea. The session was not suitable for working with settings, but it gives you the opportunity to get used to it and feel confident, which solves everything on a highway surrounded by barriers.
The stage in Saudi Arabia ended a series of three races in a row. Last week, a hot weekend in Bahrain showed the weak areas of the cars. Seven teams brought new items at once, including planned ones, devoting the first part of the training session to evaluating their effectiveness.
As last year, one of the problems was the weather – by the beginning of the session, the asphalt was hot to 50 degrees, and the strong gusty wind made each lap unique. The clutch was missing, the cars were sliding.
The riders gradually increased their speed, there were no accidents, but minor incidents occurred all the time. Gasly and Berman blocked the tires on braking, Hamilton, Albon, Norris, Bortoleto and Antonelli drove off the track. Piastri was the first to hit the barrier during the weekend, with no consequences for the car, but the mechanics examined it carefully. Then Leclair touched the barrier in the fourth corner.
Gasly showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:29.239, but no one has worked on the speed yet. Everyone will go faster in the evening.
The first part of the free races
Pilot
The Time Team
Difference
Circles
1. P.Gasli
Alpine
1:29.239
-
25
2. L.Norris
McLaren
1:29.246
+0.007
25
3 . S. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:29.309
+0.070
28
4 . O. Piastri
McLaren
1:29.341
+0.102
25
5. A.Elbon
Williams
1:29.606
+0.367
23
6 . d.Russell
Mercedes
1:29.618
+0.379
21
7 . K.Sainz
Williams
1:29.779
+0.540
26
8 . L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:29.815
+0.576
27
9. M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:29.818
+0.579
26
10. Yu.Tsunoda
Red Bull
1:29.821
+0.582
26
11. L.Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:29.907
+0.668
19
12. N. Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:29.916
+0.677
25
13. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
1:29.934
+0.695
24
14. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
1:29.976
+0.737
24
15. A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
1:30.011
+0.772
15
16. D. Duane
Alpine
1:30.183
+0.944
25
17. L.Stroll
Aston Martin
1:30.583
+1.344
23
18. O. Berman
Haas
1:30.595
+1.356
21
19. E.Okon
Haas
1:31.029
+1.790
21
20. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
1:31.038
+1.799
23
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