Saudi Arabian GP: Gasly Fastest in First Practice, Norris Second

Pierre Gasly surprised everyone by setting the fastest time for Alpine in the first practice session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. McLaren`s Lando Norris was second fastest.

Gasly used fresh soft tires later than most drivers and took advantage of the improving track conditions to beat Norris by a tiny margin.

Norris, who had mentioned that McLaren`s 2025 car requires him to adapt his driving style after a disappointing race in Bahrain, will be encouraged by outperforming his teammate Oscar Piastri by almost a tenth of a second.

Piastri, the Bahrain winner, finished fourth, behind Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc. He had a close call with the wall early in the session.

Lewis Hamilton was slower than his teammate Leclerc, finishing eighth, while world champion Max Verstappen was ninth, still struggling with his Red Bull`s balance.

Williams showed good performance with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz in fifth and seventh places respectively. George Russell in the other Mercedes was sixth, unable to maintain his early pace on medium tires when others switched to softs.

The second practice session on Friday evening will provide a better indication of each team`s competitiveness as it will take place in similar conditions to qualifying and the race.

This session will also reveal more about the impact of upgrades brought by Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren to Saudi Arabia.

McLaren has a new diffuser and rear corner for their car. Ferrari has an updated rear wing, and Red Bull has a new engine cover.

Drivers will be pushing their limits on this fast and challenging circuit as they prepare for qualifying, and there were several near misses with the walls during the session.

Oliver Bearman of Haas had the most significant contact, damaging his front wing after hitting the barrier.

Traffic was a frequent problem on the track. Sainz complained that Hamilton let him pass in a dangerous location.

Saudi Arabian GP Practice One Timesheet