Verstappen Tops Friday Practice At 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Sport Grill

Roundup of Friday Practice at 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen dominated both sessions. 

Verstappen overcame a stomach-related illness earlier this week to comfortably dominate both sessions amidst serious pressure from Red Bull teammate – Sergio Perez, plus Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who battled each other across both sessions for the eventual second quickest lap time.

Several other teams meanwhile continued to discover their placing within the pecking order ahead of the second race of the season.

Now, here is a full roundup of FP1 and FP2 action in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

FP1

Once the pit exit light turned green, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries led numerous cars straight out onto track but it was Perez on soft tyres who set the initial pace with 1m 32.969 in the fifth minute.

Perez though soon found himself in a tussle with Alonso as the pair traded fastest laps on soft tyres throughout the opening 24 minutes, with Alonso winning out with 1m 30.509 in the 24th minute.

Verstappen meanwhile sat out the opening 20 minutes after arriving late to the track due to illness earlier this week, and went third-fastest on his first flying lap on soft tyres in the 23rd minute but moved top just four minutes later with 1m 30.494 and just 0.015s quicker than Alonso.

The two-time reigning champion therefore sat top at the halfway mark of the session with a 0.098 second gap covering him, Alonso and Perez.

Verstappen proceeded to then lower his benchmark time on five further occasions to eventual 1m 29.617, as he finished FP1 as the fastest driver ahead of Perez and Alonso, whilst Lance Stroll, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top six.

FP2

Aston Martin’s Alonso and Stroll were first out on track but it was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who set the initial pace on 1m 31.080, as a mix of drivers opted for hard or medium tyres in the opening 20 minutes.

Verstappen on medium tyres posted 1m 30.612 to go quickest in the seventh but was then displaced by Alonso then Perez in the following three minutes, yet the Dutchman four minutes later regained the fastest lap with 1m 30.058 which he soon lowered to 1m 29.952 minutes later.

Once the Qualifying simulations began, Alonso fell short by 0.033s on his first soft-tyre flying lap but Perez went 0.050s quicker than his Red Bull teammate, as Verstappen was forced to abort his initial flier due to a yellow flag at Turn 13.

Verstappen nevertheless finished fastest after his second flier as he posted 1m 29.603 to top the session, ahead of Alonso who managed to find time on his own second attempt to beat Perez’s effort, as the trio rounded out the top three in that order.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was fourth quickest ahead of Russell, Pierre Gasly, Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, Charles Leclerc and Sainz.

Williams’ Alex Albon was the only driver who failed to improve on the soft tyre, and finished 14th fastest on the medium tyre.