Pierre Guthrie unexpectedly topped his first practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ahead of title leaders Rand Norris and Charles Leclair.
Guthrie set the pace at 1m29.239s on his alpine and finished the session in the fastest time in the final split. The Frenchman’s only soft tire (running in the softest complex that Pirelli ever brought to Jeddah) placed him 0.007 seconds ahead of Norris, McLaren, the fastest in the first sector.
Leclerc completed the top three, with Ferrari completing a session high 28 lap and completed just 0.07S from the pace after completing Bahrain Granpurin winner Oscar Piastri 0.032 seconds ahead for the fourth time despite the Australian complaining about McLaren’s overheated seats.
Afternoon sessions that did not represent night qualifying and race conditions began to burn track temperatures at 122 degrees Fahrenheit, but mercury had dropped by F 40 degrees by the end of time. That meant that drivers were allowed to focus more on building up laps and confidence around the very fast street style circuit, rather than spending time on fishing setups.
Alex Albon was fifth for Williams, 0.367 from the pace despite complaining of lack of balance by the end of the session. He was 0.012 seconds faster than George Russell, and he reported a rare sensation on Mercedes’ brakes, with 0.173 faster than Williams’ teammate Carlos Sign.
Lewis Hamilton was 0.576 with eighth from the second Ferrari pace. Max Verstappen was just 0.003 seconds behind Hamilton, but he complained, “turning the car into the first two turns, and through the center split, “it’s basically not balanced.” He was just 0.003s more than Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who completed the top 10.
Liam Lawson was 11th in the Bulls race, more than his teammate Isack Hadjar’s only team to complete just 15 laps on 15 laps after his team fought technical issues over time.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was ranked 12th over Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Hajar set the session row to 15 laps, but finished before Jack Doohan and Lance went for a walk.
Oliver Bareman had to change his forewing after tapping the wall with a big lockup early in the session.
Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Boltreto completed their orders on the 19th and 20th respectively.
