The veteran Spanish pilot Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) set the best time of the second session and the free practice day of the Saudi Arabia Formula 1 Grand Prixthis Thursday at the Jedá urban circuit, sending a strong message to the rest, starting with the favorite Max Verstappen.
Fernando Alonsothe only driver to go below one minute and 29 seconds on the Saudi night, was ahead of the British on the time sheet of the second session George Russell (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen. She beat them by 230 and 331 thousandths of a second, respectively.
Max Verstappen doesn’t worry
This third place does not, however, represent any sign of alarm for Max Verstappengreat dominator of last season Formula 1 and who already won the first race of 2024 last Saturday, in Bahrain. In that first Grand Prix of the course, the Dutchman remained discreet on the free practice day, where he only presented the sixth best time. A day later he got the pole position and in the race he showed his great superiority.
“The tests went well. The pace was good and we got to know more about the car. We are going to study the data to improve between now and tomorrow (Saturday). I am very confident going into the qualifying session,” he declared. Max Verstappen. In the case of George Russellhis second best time of the day came after complaining over the radio that the car felt “very unstable.”
The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was fourth, ahead of the other Red Bull, the Mexican Sergio Perez, which was fifth. The Canadian Lance Stroll confirmed the good feelings of the Aston Martin and obtained the sixth best time.
Lewis Hamilton was appreciated
The Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) was seventh and the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) eighth, after receiving a warning for having bothered the American on the track Logan Sargeant (Williams). “Today we have tried quite a few settings to learn more about the car, but we still have to work harder to gain performance,” explained the British driver.
McLaren was far from the top positions this Thursday, with the Australian Oscar Piastri tenth and the British Lando Norris barely twelfth. “We have tried several settings to optimize the car on this circuit, which is demanding. The data we have gathered will allow us to understand the best approach for the qualifying session,” he explained. Andrea Stellathe director of the British team.
The drivers will have a third and final free practice session on Friday, before the qualifying session that same day, which will determine the starting grid order for Saturday’s race.
Source: Ambito
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