Final Practice of the Saudi Arabian GP race weekend took place on Friday as Championship leader Max Verstappen looks to extend his lead to dominate this season as the same. Aston Martin has competed well and stays best of the rest after the cars at Red Bull. Mercedes have had quite a disappointing practice alongside Ferrari.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a relatively new street circuit that is designed to be one of the fastest in the world, while the Sakhir Circuit is a permanent track with a mix of fast and slow corners and a challenging surface.
Final Practice 1 report
Red Bull’s championship leader, Max Verstappen, set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. Despite the hot weather, Red Bull and Aston Martin started the session with their drivers donning soft tires. Perez and Alonso traded places at the top of the leaderboard for the first 30 minutes before Verstappen set the fastest time of 1m 29.617s.
FP1 done and dusted and it's Max Verstappen who goes fastest! ā±ļø pic.twitter.com/tZ5drFn0OV
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 17, 2023
Perez was 0.438s behind his teammate in second place, while Alonso was another two-tenths away in third place for Aston Martin. His teammate, Lance Stroll, finished fourth, just under a second off the pace. Mercedes‘ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, respectively, both over 1.1s behind Verstappen’s time. Hamilton, who made his Mercedes debut ten years ago, remarked that he was “struggling for grip” as he rounded the track on softs.
Carlos Sainz finished seventh ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, while Charles Leclerc finished eleventh in the other Ferrari. Leclerc, who retired from the season opener, received a 10-place grid penalty in Saudi Arabia for exceeding his allocation of control electronics. He will also have a new ICE and MGU-H for the Grand Prix.
Alex Albon finished ninth for Williams, while Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top ten for AlphaTauri.
Esteban Ocon finished twelfth for Alpine ahead of Nyck de Vries in the thirteenth, while Oscar Piastri finished fourteenth for McLaren. Haas finished fifteenth and sixteenth, with Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Kevin Magnussen, while Logan Sargeant finished seventeenth for Williams. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, ten years after making his F1 Grand Prix debut, finished eighteenth, while Zhou Guanyu finished nineteenth.
Lando Norris finished the twentieth for McLaren. This weekend, Norris has a new exhaust, MGU-H, MGU-K turbocharger, and internal combustion engine, but he has not exceeded any allocations.
FP1. You ready? š#WeAreWilliams #SaudiArabianGP šøš¦ pic.twitter.com/QefZxZUTcu
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) March 17, 2023
Verstappen’s fastest time in FP1 puts him in a good position for the second practice session and qualifying, but history suggests that FP1 pace-setters rarely win the Grand Prix. The last time a driver won the Grand Prix after setting the fastest time in FP1 was Verstappen himself at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. The second practice session began at 2000 local time at Jeddah, with Verstappen holding the cards as Red Bull’s reigning champion.
Final practice 2 report
Max Verstappen continued his impressive performance in Jeddah as he topped the timesheets in the second practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, led the way in the customary FP2 qualifying simulation runs with a time of 1m 29.603s. He was followed by Fernando Alonso, driving for Aston Martin, who finished second and Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, who finished third.
The second practice session saw much cooler track conditions than the opening practice hour on Friday afternoon. The floodlights were turned on, making the conditions much more representative of those that the drivers will face in qualifying and the race. Verstappen also topped the timesheets in FP1, indicating that he was in excellent form for the race.
It's time to head out into the night for FP2! š#WeAreWilliams #SaudiArabianGP šøš¦ pic.twitter.com/GgK4tJz2oS
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) March 17, 2023
Alpine had a strong showing on Friday, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing fourth and sixth, respectively. George Russell, driving for Mercedes, finished in P5, sandwiched between the French pair. Lance Stroll, in the sister Aston Martin, finished seventh fastest, followed by Nico Hulkenberg, driving for Haas, and the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who finished ninth and tenth, respectively.
However, Leclerc is set to take a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race due to engine issues that he experienced during the session.
Lewis Hamilton, who won the first race in Jeddah in 2021, finished in 11th place after having his first run on the soft tire impeded by yellow flags. Lando Norris, driving for McLaren, finished in 12th place.
Yuki Tsunoda was the quickest of the AlphaTauri drivers, finishing in 13th place, followed by Alex Albon, driving for Williams. Kevin Magnussen, in the sister Haas, finished in 15th place, with Zhou Guanyu, driving for Alfa Romeo, finishing in 16th place.
Tsunoda’s teammate, Nyck de Vries, finished the session in 17th place, ahead of fellow rookies Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri. Piastri had to take avoiding action after nearly hitting the rear of Sainz. Valtteri Bottas finished at the rear of the field for Alfa Romeo.
The FP2 analysis is live over on buymeacoffee for the members, but here are some of the interesting points from what we learned on Friday in FP2 ahead of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prixš§µ pic.twitter.com/TWM8NkxRK1
— BRRRAKE (@brrrake) March 18, 2023
The practice sessions indicate that Verstappen is the favorite for the race, with strong performances from Alonso and Perez. Alpine and Mercedes also showed good form, while Leclerc’s grid penalty will make it challenging for him to compete. Hamilton and Norris will be looking to improve their positions in qualifying and the race. The rookies will be aiming to gain experience and make progress throughout the weekend.
Final Practice 3 report
Max Verstappen continued to dominate the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in the third and final practice session. The championship leader topped all three practice sessions before qualifying. Verstappen set a time of 1m 28.485s, which was more than six-tenths of a second faster than his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished second.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso secured the third spot on the board, but he was almost a second behind Verstappen. Lance Stroll from Aston Martin was fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton in fifth place for Mercedes. George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, finished in eleventh position.
š FP3 CLASSIFICATION š
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 18, 2023
Another promising session in the bag for @redbullracing and @AstonMartinF1! š#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/bQX7HTQx6s
Ferrari had a late start to set qualifying runs on soft tires, and Charles Leclerc managed to jump to sixth overall, while Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10. However, Leclerc was slapped with a 10-place grid penalty.
McLaren secured seventh and eighth positions, with Lando Norris ahead of his rookie teammate Oscar Piastri by just 0.008s.
Pierre Gasly from Alpine finished in ninth place, while Sainz and Russell rounded out the top 12.
Yuki Tsunoda from AlphaTauri finished 19th on medium tires, while Nyck de Vries failed to set a time due to a power unit issue, leaving him at the bottom of the timesheets in 20th place.
Verstappen’s performance in the practice sessions puts him in a strong position ahead of the qualifying rounds. Red Bull has been in dominant form throughout the weekend, and Verstappen looks set to extend his championship lead further.
Max's fastest FP3 time wasn't far off the time Sergio Perez set for pole in Jeddah last year š²ā±ļø
— Autosport (@autosport) March 18, 2023
Can anybody stop Verstappen from claiming pole today?#SaudiArabianGP šøš¦ pic.twitter.com/HQioIlnBYz
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the penultimate race of the season, and the championship is still up for grabs. Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings with 351.5 points, while Hamilton is in second place with 343.5 points. With just two races to go, the title race is finely poised, and every point will be crucial for both drivers.
The qualifying session will determine the starting grid for the race, and it promises to be an exciting contest.
1X WDC champion Nico Rosberg mentioned about the upcoming qualifying session “This is going to be so dangerous out there now in Qualifying, because itās the first time that so many cars will go in sync.“
Verstappen has been in blistering form all weekend, but Hamilton will be determined to bounce back and secure pole position. The stage is set for a thrilling qualifying session, and fans will be eagerly watching to see who comes out on top.
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