Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in Friday’s Free Practice One for 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Monoguesque picked up from where he left off in the last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
2022 Bahrain Grand Prix winner Leclerc, who didn’t break cover until halfway through the session, clocked a 1m 30.772s on the closing stages on the soft compound tyres.
2021 World Champion and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who failed to score in Bahrain because of a fuel pressure issue that struck both Red Bull drivers, was second quickest ahead of impressive Valtteri Bottas in P3.
The Fin is showing he is the real deal for Alfa Romeo with an impressive start to the 2022 season, Carlos Sainz comes home in P4 in the second Ferrari, the top four separated by just over three-tenths of a second.
AlphaTauri duo Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were an encouraging fifth and sixth respectively ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (P7).
Esteban Ocon was the leading Alpine in eighth, with Lewis Hamilton – who hit the wall late in the session on the approach to Turn 1 – was the best-placed Mercedes-powered car in ninth, 1.6s off the pace.
Fernando Alonso, whose Alpine team changed his internal combustion engine as a precaution after finding a suspected sealing issue, closed out the top 10.
McLaren showed more promise, having had a miserable time in Bahrain with Daniel Ricciardo 11th and Lando Norris – running a visor cam this weekend – 13th, the duo sandwiching the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
Rookie Zhou Guanyu – who scored a point on debut – pipped George Russell in the final few minutes for 14th with Nico Hulkenberg, in for Sebastian Vettel who is still testing positive for Covid-19, 16th.
The Williams duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi were 17th and 18th respectively ahead Mick Schumacher in 19th. The other Haas of Kevin Magnussen failed to set a time, having suffered a hydraulic issue.
Red Bull found way to keep their pit crew more fit
