No Surprises as Verstappen goes fastest in FP1

Max Verstappen has started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend on yet another high, going quickest in his dominant RB20 in FP1, as Fernando Alonso split the Red Bulls to help complete the top three.

Although Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to leave his garage, the order changed in the pitlane and it was Valtteri Bottas who was the first driver to take to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit this weekend. 

The former teammates were shortly joined by the entire grid, with all 20 drivers split for choice between the hard and medium compound tyre for their opening runs.

After everyone had completed their first lap, it was the ‘Street King’ Sergio Perez who held the top spot, setting his time of 1:32.072s on the hard compound tyre.

Lando Norris soon demoted the Red Bull driver, going over two-tenths quicker, however, running the yellow-marked tyre. 

His teammate, Oscar Piastri, joined him at the top, slotting into P2 before the pairing naturally drifted down the order.

After a turbulent week off-track for Alpine, Esteban Ocon reported of a similar experience on-track, with his A524 bouncing through the first sector.

He wasn’t the only driver struggling early on, with Lance Stroll falling victim to the tight circuit and making contact with the wall which caused damage to his front wing.

Lance Stroll leaves the garage during FP1 at the Saudi Arabian GP. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images.

The Canadian returned to the garage, with his Aston Martin receiving a thorough check-up.

George Russell was sitting comfortably with the fastest time of 1:30.554s, only improving as he set fastest sectors in his following run.

Meanwhile, his teammate wasn’t enjoying the ride anywhere near as much, complaining of rear bouncing across the lap. 

At the 20-minute mark, a slight lull fell over the circuit, with only five cars remaining on track.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of those drivers, improving from P15 into P7 with a time six-tenths off the benchmark before joining the field back in the pitlane. 

As the drivers eventually peeled out of the pits, it was Norris who kickstarted the soft tyre movement. 

The McLaren driver immediately jumped to the top of the order, however, not by a lot, with Russell’s time on the hard tyre only a tenth slower than his compatriot. 

Alex Albon, also on the red-marked tyre, slotted into third fastest, three-tenths back on Norris.

It was no surprise to see the whole field relegated when Max Verstappen made the switch, setting the fastest first sector before going four-tenths up on the previous fastest time.

Russell wasn’t letting that happen on his watch however, matching Verstappen through Sector 1 and setting the fastest middle sector to cross the line three milliseconds ahead of the Red Bull.

George Russell held the fastest time during FP1 at the Saudi Arabian GP. Image: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images.

Verstappen later reported of “some weird engine behaviour” specifically in Turn 13, through the final sector and when he was off the throttle, with the car also “jumping a lot”. 

Despite setting personal bests, Leclerc’s journey around the 27 corners was flat compared to his rivals, seeing him remain in P7.

It was a similar story for his teammate, who found himself in P5 as rejoined the session with just over 20 minutes to go following a rear wing setup change.

Despite his earlier issues and traffic interference, Verstappen jumped to the top of the order being the first driver to crack the 1m29s with his time of 1:29.659s.

In the final 15 minutes, times began to drop off with the Mercedes duo being the first to make this evident as they failed to even set personal bests across the lap.

Leclerc had a harmless bout of bad luck, picking up not one but two plastic bags on his flying lap.

The Monegasque was unfazed, still managing to set the third fastest time just three-tenths slower than Verstappen as he described the track as “like Mario Kart”.

Following a slight reshuffle at the front, Fernando Alonso promoted his Aston Martin into P2, with his teammate bordering the top ten times in P9 after having work done on his car.

Fernando Alonso during the opening practice session at the Saudi Arabian GP. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images.

With the Saudi Arabian sun setting and less than 10 minutes on the clock, Ocon led the charge of drivers making the switch to the medium compound tyre. 

His first time on said tyre was a 1:36.089s leaving his position unchanged, while Ricciardo trailing behind the Alpine promoted himself into P12 with a faster time of 1:30.917s.

The Haas duo’s positions at the very back of the timing sheets also remained unchanged on the medium compound, however, still faster than the Alpine’s lap on the same tyre.

With all 20 drivers out on track for the final 5 minutes of FP1, it was no surprise to see some traffic issues unfolding.

Logan Sargeant was one of those, having a scary moment as he came out of the very fast-paced Turn 10, encountering a slow-moving Ferrari on the racing line. 

Piastri took a heavy dosage of the kerb at Turn 11, seeing his McLaren garage grimace as he flew through the high-speed sector.

As a result, the Australian’s run was impacted, seeing him stuck in P15.

As the chequered flag on the opening Saudi Arabian GP session fell and drivers began conducting their practice starts, the order of the timing sheets remained unchanged.

Max Verstappen ended the session with the fastest time of all 20 drivers, being a 1:29.659s.

Fernando Alonso slotted in just under two-tenths behind, splitting the Red Bulls as Sergio Perez sat with the third quickest time of the session.

The drivers will shortly retake the track for FP2, however, in cooler and darker conditions as night falls.

The second practice session will kick off at 4:00 AM, AEST, in just a few hours. 

Free Practice 1 Results:

There’s lots more loaded into a bumper edition of AUTO ACTION magazine, on sale at newsagents and available digitally here.

For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.

Latest Podcast: Hats off to you. It’s the Auto Action Rev Limiter

Hooray, F1 is back. Boo, Max Verstappen wins. The Bahrain Grand Prix was a little underwhelming, but at least there was racing… and scandal. There was plenty of scandel, but we don’t do that stuff apparently, so we don’t talk about Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner and Jos Verstappen.