Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc picked up where he left off in Bahrain, setting the pace at the first practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Corniche Circuit in Jeddah.
Bahrain Grand Prix winner Leclerc, who didn’t come out of hiding until mid-session, clocked 1m 30.772s in the final round on soft compound tyres.
READ MORE: Red Bull reveals reason for dual entry to Bahrain Grand Prix and says it doesn’t expect a repeat in Saudi Arabia
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was unable to score in Bahrain due to fuel pressure issues both Red Bull drivers faced, was second fastest.
Valtteri Bottas was a very impressive third for Alfa Romeo, ahead of Carlos Sainz’s second Ferrari, just over three tenths of a second apart in the top four.
1 Charles | 1:30.772 |
2 Max. | +0.116s |
3 Valtteri | +0.312 s |
4 Carlos | +0.367s |
5 Pierre | +0.545 s |
AlphaTauri duo Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda finished in an encouraging fifth and sixth place respectively, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (7th).
Esteban Ocon led Alpine in eighth and Lewis Hamilton, who hit the wall late in the session on the way to turn one, was the best Mercedes-powered car in ninth, 1.6 seconds back from the pace.
READ MORE: ‘I want to get into the fight ASAP’ says Hamilton as Mercedes prepares to try fixes in Saudi Arabia
Fernando Alonso, whose Alpine team replaced his combustion engine as a precaution after discovering a suspected sealing problem, rounded out the top ten.
McLaren showed great promise, having a miserable time in Bahrain with Daniel Ricciardo (11th) and Lando Norris (this weekend with a camera on his visor) – 13th, the duo pinned Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP1: Verstappen nearly spun after snap at high speed
Earlier in the session, Norris crashed into a free-hanging brake marker at Turn 1, throwing a significant amount of debris around the track and putting up a red flag to allow the cleanup to take place.
Newcomer Zhou Guangyu, who scored a point on debut, overtook George Russell in the last few minutes to take 14th place with Nico Hulkenberg replacing Sebastian Vettel, who is still positive for Covid-19, in 16th place.
READ MORE: Vettel to miss 2022 second race as Hulkenberg replaces Aston Martin in Saudi Arabia
The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi finished 17th and 18th respectively, ahead of Mick Schumacher in 19th. Kevin Magnussen’s other Haas was unable to set the time due to hydraulic problems.
FP2 follows at 17:00 local time and teams will focus on racing simulations.
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