Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP LIVE: Lewis Hamilton continued his sensation run in Free Practice 2 on Friday night. The intention of winning the Grand Prix went ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. Max Verstappen was pushed to fourth place. The session was then red-flagged with under five minutes remaining for a heavy Charles Leclerc crash. Follow Formula 1 live updates on InsideSport
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton wins Free Practice 2, Max Verstappen 4th; Follow LIVE updates
Leclerc crashed his Ferrari at high speed late in the session having spun into the barriers at Turn 23, thankfully climbing out of the car and walking away – his chassis clearly having taken the brunt of the impact. He finished 10th in the session.
Hamilton’s first soft-tyred run yielded a scary moment when he encountered a slow-moving Haas exiting Turn 10 midway through the session, but the FP1 leader had already set the fastest time of 1m 29.018s on mediums, his team mate Bottas just 0.061s back in P2 (also on mediums) and Gasly another 0.020s off in P3 for AlphaTauri – albeit on soft tyres.
As for Verstappen, the championship leader complained that he couldn’t get his front soft compounds into the right temperature window after his first runs. The Dutchman extended his qualifying run in FP2 with an eye on Saturday’s crucial session, and finished fourth having set his fastest lap on softs.
Alpine continued to show competitive pace as this weekend they aim to consolidate fifth in the constructors’ championship. Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Esteban Ocon sixth, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished just behind in P7 – all three setting their benchmarks on softs.
Practice 2 results
| POSITION | TIME |
|---|---|
| 1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes | 1:29.018 |
| 2 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes | +0.061s |
| 3 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri | +0.081s |
| 4 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing | +0.195s |
| 5 Fernando ALONSO Alpine | +0.423s |
Yuki Tsunoda underlined AlphaTauri’s stellar pace by finishing eighth on hard tyres, while Sergio Perez was nearly two-tenths off in P9 on softs. Rounding out the top 10 was Leclerc – 0.004s behind the Red Bull of Perez using the same compound – before crashing with under five minutes left on the clock.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo took 11th on hard compounds, his team mate Lando Norris 12th on softs. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was fifth in FP1 but 13th in the second session, ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Up next were the Aston Martins, with medium-tyred Lance Stroll taking 15th ahead of soft-shod Sebastian Vettel in P16.
That left the Williams and Haas drivers backing up the leaderboard, with George Russell 17th and his team mate Nicholas Latifi 19th; Mick Schumacher was 18th after a brush with the barriers and Haas team mate Nikita Mazepin 20th, having spun at Turn 2 late on.
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian GP LIVE: F1 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton edged out title rival Max Verstappen to the quickest time in the first practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The 36-year-old clocked a 1m 29.786s to end up less than a tenth of a second clear of the Red Bull, who set his best time in the final minute of the session. Valtteri Bottas emerged as the third fastest in the top 3.
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton wins Free Practice 1, rival Max Verstappen 2nd; Follow LIVE updates
The dust that has covered the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the days leading up to the race had been swept away ahead of FP1, with teams expecting the 6.174km track to offer similar levels of grip to what they experienced last time out in Qatar.
Verstappen set the early pace on hard tyres, 0.6s quicker than Hamilton, with Valtteri Bottas slotting into third, all three having to abort laps at some stage because of traffic on a track that is fast but very narrow in places.
“This track is cool,” said Bottas on team radio after he set the quickest time with around 20 minutes to go, as drivers bolted on soft tyres and started to push their cars a little more after gaining confidence with a flurry of reconnaissance laps.
Practice 1 results
| POSITION | TIME |
|---|---|
| 1 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes | 1:29.786 |
| 2 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing | +0.056s |
| 3 Valtteri BOTTAS Mercedes | +0.223s |
| 4 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri | +0.477s |
| 5 Antonio GIOVINAZZI Alfa Romeo Racing | +0.532s |
But he was usurped not long after as team mate Hamilton, who is running the power unit he last used in Brazil where he introduced a fresh internal combustion engine, became the first driver into the 1m 29s to move to the top of the times.
Verstappen, who had to abort two laps after each time taking a lot of kerb, improved late on to second, with Bottas a quarter of a second back in third. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly – who has been inside the top-five in qualifying in each of the last three races – was a strong fourth, inside half a second of the quickest time.
As anticipated, teams focused on gaining mileage to gather data on the brand new street venue, the fastest street circuit in the world, with times tumbling as the one-hour session went on and the track rubbered in.
Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, who is bound for Formula E next year, was a surprising fifth, ahead of the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc with Daniel Ricciardo the leading McLaren in eighth.
Fernando Alonso was ninth for Alpine with Sebastian Vettel 10th, making it eight different constructors in the top 10.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was off the pace, around a second slower than team mate Verstappen, in 11th, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll.
Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Raikkonen were 0.9s and a second respectively slower than their team mates in 15th and 16th, as George Russell slotted into 17th in the Williams. Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi and Nikita Mazepin completed the classification.
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE- All eyes will be on reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen when the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix kicks off on Friday. Mercedes’ Hamilton is only 8 points behind Verstappen of Red Bull. The Briton has a golden opportunity to go past Netherlands’s rising superstar. The duo will lock horns in the inaugural edition of the Formula 1 race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen- Check all details
Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas take Abu Dhabi track with aim to break year-long record
There will be as many as 50 laps with a circuit length of 3.836 miles while the race length is 191.661 miles. It is named the fastest street track. The track is the second-longest in the F1 calendar. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is located along the banks of the Red Sea. It will only be the fifth full night race in the F1 calendar after Singapore, Bahrain, Sakhir and Qatar Grand Prix.
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Schedule
Practice 1: 7 pm to 8 pm on December 3 (Friday)
Practice 2: 10.30 pm to 11.30 pm on December 3
Practice 3: 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm on December 4 (Saturday)
Practice 4: 10.30 pm to 11.30 pm on December 4
Race: 11 pm to 1 AM on December 5,6 (Sunday)
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Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen- DRIVER STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | NATIONALITY | CAR | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NED | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 351.5 | |
| 2 | GBR | MERCEDES | 343.5 | |
| 3 | FIN | MERCEDES | 203 | |
| 4 | MEX | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 190 | |
| 5 | GBR | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 153 | |
| 6 | MON | FERRARI | 152 | |
| 7 | ESP | FERRARI | 145.5 | |
| 8 | AUS | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 105 | |
| 9 | FRA | ALPHATAURI HONDA | 92 | |
| 10 | ESP | ALPINE RENAULT | 77 |
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen- Check all details
Max Verstappen in 2021 season
| GRAND PRIX | DATE | RACE POSITION | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 28 Mar 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Emilia Romagna | 18 Apr 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Portugal | 02 May 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Spain | 09 May 2021 | 2 | 19 |
| Monaco | 23 May 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Azerbaijan | 06 Jun 2021 | DNF | 0 |
| France | 20 Jun 2021 | 1 | 26 |
| Styria | 27 Jun 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Austria | 04 Jul 2021 | 1 | 26 |
| Great Britain | 18 Jul 2021 | DNF | 3 |
| Hungary | 01 Aug 2021 | 9 | 2 |
| Belgium | 29 Aug 2021 | 1 | 12.5 |
| Netherlands | 05 Sep 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Italy | 12 Sep 2021 | DNF | 2 |
| Russia | 26 Sep 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Turkey | 10 Oct 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| United States | 24 Oct 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Mexico | 07 Nov 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Brazil | 14 Nov 2021 | 2 | 20 |
| Qatar | 21 Nov 2021 | 2 | 19 |
Lewis Hamilton in 2021 season
| GRAND PRIX | DATE | RACE POSITION | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 28 Mar 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Emilia Romagna | 18 Apr 2021 | 2 | 19 |
| Portugal | 02 May 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Spain | 09 May 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Monaco | 23 May 2021 | 7 | 7 |
| Azerbaijan | 06 Jun 2021 | 15 | 0 |
| France | 20 Jun 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Styria | 27 Jun 2021 | 2 | 19 |
| Austria | 04 Jul 2021 | 4 | 12 |
| Great Britain | 18 Jul 2021 | 1 | 27 |
| Hungary | 01 Aug 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Belgium | 29 Aug 2021 | 3 | 7.5 |
| Netherlands | 05 Sep 2021 | 2 | 19 |
| Italy | 12 Sep 2021 | DNF | 0 |
| Russia | 26 Sep 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Turkey | 10 Oct 2021 | 5 | 10 |
| United States | 24 Oct 2021 | 2 | 19 |
| Mexico | 07 Nov 2021 | 2 | 18 |
| Brazil | 14 Nov 2021 | 1 | 25 |
| Qatar | 21 Nov 2021 | 1 | 25 |
Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix LIVE updates: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen- Check all details
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