F1 results: Max Verstappen fastest in Saudi Arabian GP practice

Verstappen was fastest in both FP1, held in daylight, and FP2, which was held in darkness and was closer to conditions for both qualifying and the race.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez

Cla	Driver		Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen		18	1'29.617			248.015
2	Sergio Perez		20	1'30.100	0.483	0.483	246.685
3	Fernando Alonso		22	1'30.315	0.698	0.215	246.098
4	Lance Stroll		20	1'30.577	0.960	0.262	245.386
5	George Russell		26	1'30.771	1.154	0.194	244.862
6	Lewis Hamilton		26	1'30.787	1.170	0.016	244.819
7	Carlos Sainz		23	1'30.924	1.307	0.137	244.450
8	Pierre Gasly		24	1'30.949	1.332	0.025	244.383
9	Alex Albon		23	1'31.030	1.413	0.081	244.165
10	Yuki Tsunoda		25	1'31.110	1.493	0.080	243.951
11	Charles Leclerc		26	1'31.118	1.501	0.008	243.929
12	Esteban Ocon		22	1'31.181	1.564	0.063	243.761
13	Nyck de Vries		29	1'31.450	1.833	0.269	243.044
14	Oscar Piastri		24	1'31.491	1.874	0.041	242.935
15	Nico Hulkenberg		22	1'31.552	1.935	0.061	242.773
16	Kevin Magnussen		23	1'31.566	1.949	0.014	242.736
17	Logan Sargeant		26	1'31.922	2.305	0.356	241.796
18	Valtteri Bottas		25	1'31.970	2.353	0.048	241.670
19	Zhou Guanyu		22	1'31.986	2.369	0.016	241.628
20	Lando Norris		21	1'32.149	2.532	0.163	241.200
View full results

What happened in Saudi Arabian GP Free Practice 1?

Sergio Perez set the pace early on for Red Bull, recording a 1m31.486s. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso then took over at the top with 1m31.262s, before Perez responded with 1m30.592s, and Alonso went even faster with 1m30.509s, pipping him by 0.083s.

Verstappen could only manage third after his first run, over a second off the pace, but then vaulted to P1 on his second run on the same tyres with 1m30.494s, just 0.015s quicker. At the halfway point of the session, Verstappen went even faster on a third push lap on this rubber at 1m30.062s.

Alonso got to within half a second of that with 16 minutes to go, as Verstappen worked down to 1m29.617s, and Perez regained his second spot, 0.483s off his team leader.

Lance Stroll leapt to fourth in the closing minutes, lapping his Aston in 1m30.577s, over nine tenths off the quickest time. Mercedes’ George Russell was fifth fastest, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton just fractionally slower but a tenth clear of Carlos Sainz in the fastest Ferrari. That trio were all over a second off Verstappen’s pace.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP2 results: Verstappen fastest from Alonso

Cla	Driver		Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Max Verstappen		29	1'29.603			248.054
2	Fernando Alonso		26	1'29.811	0.208	0.208	247.479
3	Sergio Perez		26	1'29.902	0.299	0.091	247.229
4	Esteban Ocon		27	1'30.039	0.436	0.137	246.853
5	George Russell		27	1'30.070	0.467	0.031	246.768
6	Pierre Gasly		28	1'30.100	0.497	0.030	246.685
7	Lance Stroll		27	1'30.110	0.507	0.010	246.658
8	Nico Hulkenberg		27	1'30.181	0.578	0.071	246.464
9	Charles Leclerc		28	1'30.341	0.738	0.160	246.027
10	Carlos Sainz		29	1'30.592	0.989	0.251	245.346
11	Lewis Hamilton		27	1'30.599	0.996	0.007	245.327
12	Lando Norris		27	1'30.721	1.118	0.122	244.997
13	Yuki Tsunoda		30	1'30.776	1.173	0.055	244.848
14	Alex Albon		27	1'30.810	1.207	0.034	244.757
15	Kevin Magnussen		25	1'30.820	1.217	0.010	244.730
16	Zhou Guanyu		27	1'30.837	1.234	0.017	244.684
17	Nyck de Vries		29	1'30.921	1.318	0.084	244.458
18	Logan Sargeant		30	1'30.959	1.356	0.038	244.356
19	Oscar Piastri		26	1'30.964	1.361	0.005	244.342
20	Valtteri Bottas		30	1'31.052	1.449	0.088	244.106
View full results

What happened in Saudi Arabian GP Free Practice 2?

Under the floodlights, Verstappen, Alonso and Perez swapped the top spot between them early on, as the majority of teams evaluated the medium tyres. Verstappen got down to 1m29.952s, while escaping a light brush of the wall at the exit of the final corner.

As the teams all shifted to softs for qualifying simulations, Perez went quickest initially on 1m29.902s – as Alonso’s opening gambit was ruined by cutting the chicane at Turn 22/23.

Verstappen lowered the P1 time to 1m29.603s for the fastest time of the day, three tenths quicker than Perez.

Alonso then improved to take second, two tenths off Verstappen’s fastest time, and Esteban Ocon’s Alpine jumped to fourth – just under half a second off the pace – ahead of Russell, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Stroll.