F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Hamilton pips Verstappen as drivers get first taste of Jeddah
Lewis Hamilton edged out title rival Max Verstappen to lead opening practice in Saudi Arabia as the Formula 1 drivers got their first taste of the new Jeddah track.
Following Porsche Supercup and Formula 2 practice sessions earlier in the day, F1 became the third series to sample the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which many had compared to the Baku and Valencia tracks.
Championship leader Verstappen managed set the early pace in the session for Red Bull, completing his initial runs on the hard compound tyre. The Dutchman sat almost two seconds clear of the field at points as he quickly found his feet around the track, eventually whittling his best lap on hards down to a 1m30.014s.
Title rival Lewis Hamilton was not as swift to get up to speed despite running on softs, finishing six-tenths of a second off Verstappen’s best lap during the opening runs with team-mate Valtteri Bottas sitting third on softs.
As the track continued to evolve and the entire field switched to softs for the second half of the session, lap times continued to get quicker, with Hamilton and Bottas leapfrogging Verstappen on the timesheets.
Bottas moved five-thousandths of a second clear of Verstappen with his second run on soft tyres, only for Hamilton to then find another two-tenths of a second, setting a best lap time of 1m29.786s with 15 minutes remaining.
It would be enough to give Hamilton P1 at the end of the session, narrowly keeping the Mercedes driver ahead of Verstappen, who improved in the dying moments of the session to finish second.
Verstappen wound up a quick lap on softs to cross the line in the final minute of running, but fell 0.056 seconds shy of Hamilton at the top.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Verstappen had a late mix-up with Esteban Ocon as the Alpine driver tried to allow him through into Turn 1, only for both cars to run wide and narrowly avoid contract. It was the only near-miss of the session, though, which went by without any major interruption and only a couple of yellow flags.
Bottas ended the session third for Mercedes, and enjoyed his first running at the Jeddah circuit, telling his engineer midway through the session: “F*** this track is cool.”
Pierre Gasly ended the session fourth-fastest for AlphaTauri, finishing within half a second of Hamilton at the front, while Antonio Giovinazzi was a surprise fifth for Alfa Romeo after a late improvement on soft tyres.
Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari, with Sainz finding a decent amount of time after making the switch to softs, while Daniel Ricciardo took eigth thanks to a couple of improvements through his second run on softs.
Fernando Alonso took ninth for Alpine after improving on hards during the second half of the session, while Sebastian Vettel closed out practice in 10th place for Aston Martin.
Sergio Perez struggled to match Verstappen’s pace in the sister Red Bull RB16B, ending FP1 in 11th place, over a second behind his team-mate.
Ocon improved after the mix-up with Verstappen to finish 12th ahead of Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, while Yuki Tsunoda took 15th as none of the quartet matched their respective team-mates for pace.
Kimi Raikkonen finished 16th for Alfa Romeo, almost one second down on Giovinazzi in fifth. George Russell led Williams’ efforts in 17th ahead of Haas’s Mick Schumacher, while their respective team-mates, Nicholas Latifi and Nikita Mazepin, propped up the timesheets in 19th and 20th place.
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - FP1 results
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 21 | 1'29.786 | |
| 2 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 23 | 1'29.842 | 0.056 |
| 3 |  Valtteri Bottas | | Mercedes | 24 | 1'30.009 | 0.223 |
| 4 |  Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | 28 | 1'30.263 | 0.477 |
| 5 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 27 | 1'30.318 | 0.532 |
| 6 |  Carlos Sainz Jr |  | Ferrari | 26 | 1'30.564 | 0.778 |
| 7 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 26 | 1'30.600 | 0.814 |
| 8 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | McLaren | 25 | 1'30.608 | 0.822 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |  | Alpine | 27 | 1'30.842 | 1.056 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Aston Martin | 25 | 1'30.886 | 1.100 |
| 11 |  Sergio Perez |  | Red Bull | 27 | 1'30.960 | 1.174 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon |  | Alpine | 29 | 1'31.023 | 1.237 |
| 13 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 23 | 1'31.029 | 1.243 |
| 14 |  Lance Stroll |  | Aston Martin | 25 | 1'31.044 | 1.258 |
| 15 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | AlphaTauri | 26 | 1'31.099 | 1.313 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 26 | 1'31.296 | 1.510 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | Williams | 28 | 1'31.343 | 1.557 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher |  | Haas | 24 | 1'31.525 | 1.739 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 27 | 1'31.821 | 2.035 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |  | Haas | 23 | 1'33.464 | 3.678 |
| View full results | ||||||
Related video
Live: F1 Saudi Arabian GP commentary and updates - FP1 & FP2
Haas bonus scheme idea prompted by real concern, says Mazepin
How Formula E factors could negate Red Bull's Jeddah practice gap to Mercedes
Mercedes led the way in practice for Formula 1’s first race in Jeddah, where Red Bull was off the pace on both single-lap and long runs. But, if Max Verstappen can reverse the results on Saturday, factors familiar in motorsport’s main electric single-seater category could be decisive in another close battle with Lewis Hamilton
Why Norris doesn’t expect Mr Nice Guy praise for much longer
Earning praise from rivals has been a welcome sign that Lando Norris is becoming established among Formula 1's elite. But the McLaren driver is confident that his team's upward curve can put him in the mix to contend for titles in the future, when he's hoping the compliments will be replaced by being deemed an equal adversary
What Ferrari still needs to improve to return to F1 title contention
After a disastrous 2020 in which it slumped to sixth in the F1 constructors' standings, Ferrari has rebounded strongly and is on course to finish third - despite regulations that forced it to carryover much of its forgettable SF1000 machine. Yet while it can be pleased with its improvement, there are still steps it must make if 2022 is to yield a return to winning ways
How F1 teams and personnel react in pressurised situations
OPINION: The pressure is firmly on Red Bull and Mercedes as Formula 1 2021 embarks on its final double-header. How the respective teams deal with that will be a crucial factor in deciding the outcome of the drivers' and constructors' championships, as Autosport's technical consultant and ex-McLaren F1 engineer explains
Why Ferrari is sure its long-term Leclerc investment will be vindicated
Humble yet blisteringly quick, Charles Leclerc is the driver Ferrari sees as its next world champion, and a rightful heir to the greats of Ferrari’s past – even though, by the team’s own admission, he’s not the finished article yet. Here's why it is confident that the 24-year-old can be the man to end a drought stretching back to 2008
The downside to F1's show and tell proposal
Technology lies at the heart of the F1 story and it fascinates fans, which is why the commercial rights holder plans to compel teams to show more of their ‘secrets’. STUART CODLING fears this will encourage techno-quackery…
How getting sacked gave Mercedes F1’s tech wizard lasting benefits
He’s had a hand in world championship-winning Formula 1 cars for Benetton, Renault and Mercedes, and was also a cog in the Schumacher-Ferrari axis. Having recently ‘moved upstairs’ as Mercedes chief technical officer, James Allison tells STUART CODLING about his career path and why being axed by Benetton was one of the best things that ever happened to him
The remarkable qualities that propelled Kubica’s F1 comeback
It’s easy to look at Robert Kubica’s second Formula 1 career and feel a sense of sadness that he didn’t reach the heights for which he seemed destined. But as BEN ANDERSON discovered, performance and results are almost meaningless in this context – something more fundamental and incredible happened…