The first Free Practice of the weekend in Jeddah was clean and serious. The close walls didn’t tremble against the fastest car in the world.

The sun was setting down in Jeddah for the first session of the weekend, and the drivers lost no time as all of them went on track at the beginning. They were all on medium tyres, except for Bearman and Sainz, who preferred going out on hard. Already some small issues appeared with Kimi Antonelli complaining about vibrations on the brake. Something that his teammate George Russell would also complain about towards the end of the practice. Oscar Piastri set the time at 1.31:548. However, he still reported a problem with water leakage.

Focus on testing

It has been a three way battle for the fastest spot between Max Verstappen and both McLarens. George Russell also wanted to participate and set the fastest time, only 0.029 in front of Norris. In the meantime, Oliver Bearman almost crashed into the wall while heating his tyres up to temperature during his out lap, locking two of his tyres. Carlos Sainz set the third time with hard. A little while later, both Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto locked their tyres, thankfully, without consequences. George Russell kept improving, with a 1.29:674 time. Esteban Ocon also went out on hard, but was not matching Sainz’s pace.

Time for the soft tyres to appear with a great performance from Carlos Sainz at mid-session where he took second place in 1.29:919. Piastri, Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen all went out 2 minutes later on soft as well, and Norris took P1 with a 1.29:246. It has been noted that both RedBull Racing and Visa Cash App Racing Bull cars will have a new engine, the second of the season for Verstappen, Tsunoda and Hadjar, and the third for Lawson. Alpine will also make Pierre Gasly take a new one. The Frenchman was in great form as he took first place away from the Papaya driver, being fastest in 1.29:239, so only 0.007 in front of Norris.

Long runs until the end

With twenty minutes remaining, all drivers shifted their focus to long runs. Alex Albon almost touched the wall, and toward the end of the session, he complained about the balance of his car, saying he almost crashed. Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were the drivers with the fewest laps for the Free Practice 1. The French Visa Cash App Racing Bull driver aborted his first lap on soft. On his second attempt, he lost time in the third sector, where he seemed to struggle. During this time, Max Verstappen went out on medium again, and also complained about the balance of his car. At the end of the session, Charles Leclerc slightly touched the wall in Turn 4, with no damage. Only 0.102 seconds separated the first and the fourth fastest, with Pierre Gasly keeping his P1, followed by Norris and Leclerc.