Because of the Ramadan holiday, the schedule for this weekend’s STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix started one day earlier, and Free Practices 1 and 2 were held on Thursday.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia—Performing well in front of his sponsors Thursday evening was no problem for Fernando Alonso. The Aston Martin driver set the fastest time in free practice ahead of George Russell in his Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Alonso clocked a 1:20:827 around the Corniche Street Circuit halfway through the second session before Russell bettered it only a few minutes from the session’s conclusion, only to have Alonso regain the best time and take the honors.
Charles Leclerc had a quiet session in his Ferrari and took fourth place, while Red Bull’s second driver, Sergio Perez, was fifth fastest. Lance Stroll had his Aston Martin place in sixth, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, battling a stomach problem, ended up in seventh.
The unbalance of his Mercedes didn’t work well for Lewis Hamilton, and the Briton settled for a disappointing eighth place. On the other hand, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rebounded from a disappointing session, improving his pace to finish ninth. Oscar Piastri in the McLaren took the last place in the top ten.
The second session was delayed for about 15 minutes as the marshals inspected drain covers that were beginning to cause trouble.
