McLaren Shows Strong Qualifying Pace in Jeddah: Lando Norris set the fastest time in the second free practice session for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, underlining McLaren’s strong start to the weekend. His lap of 1:28.267, set on the soft Pirelli tyres, placed him comfortably ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, who secured second place to make it a McLaren 1-2. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had initially set the pace on medium tyres, finished third, a little under three-tenths of a second behind Norris, suggesting a tight battle for pole position could be on the cards.
Qualifying Simulations and Tyre Performance: The second practice session saw teams focus more intently on qualifying simulations, utilizing the softer tyre compounds to extract maximum performance over a single lap. Max Verstappen initially set the pace on the medium tyres, but the McLarens quickly responded on the same compound. As the session progressed, drivers switched to the soft tyres for their qualifying runs. Carlos Sainz briefly topped the timesheets for Williams before Verstappen unleashed a quick lap to take the lead. However, the McLaren duo of Piastri and then Norris ultimately proved to have the edge in terms of outright pace on the soft compound, indicating strong qualifying potential for the Woking-based team.
Midfield Competition and Incident for Tsunoda: Behind the top three, Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, followed by Carlos Sainz in fifth. Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull was sixth, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in seventh. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly continued his strong showing in eighth, with Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg ninth and Williams’ Alex Albon completing the top ten. The midfield pack remained tightly bunched, suggesting a close fight for points on Sunday. The session was interrupted with just nine minutes remaining when Yuki Tsunoda clipped the inside wall at the final corner, sending his Racing Bulls car into the opposite barrier. The resulting damage caused a red flag, halting the session temporarily.
Late Restart and Practice Starts: Following the clear-up of Tsunoda’s car, the session was restarted with only a minute left on the clock. This limited time allowed the majority of the field to exit the pit lane and perform a practice start from the grid. This brief restart provided valuable data for the teams regarding starting procedures and clutch engagement on the Jeddah circuit. The incident for Tsunoda, however, will likely keep his mechanics busy overnight as they work to repair the significant damage to his RB21 car. Overall, the second practice session provided a clearer indication of the competitive order heading into qualifying, with McLaren showing impressive pace, closely followed by Red Bull and Ferrari, while the midfield battle looks set to be intense.
Free Practice 2 Results:
- Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes) – 1:28.267
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes) – +0.163
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Honda RBPT) – +0.280
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.482
- Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes) – +0.675
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull/Honda RBPT) – +0.696
- George Russell (Mercedes) – +0.706
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Renault) – +0.839
- Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber/Ferrari) – +0.926
- Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes) – +0.953
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +0.975
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT) – +1.039
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +1.104
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT) – +1.221
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Mercedes) – +1.395
- Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari) – +1.487
- Jack Doohan (Alpine/Renault) – +1.645
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Mercedes) – +1.740
- Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari) – +1.752
Disclaimer: FP2 results are preliminary and may not be indicative of qualifying or race performance. Car setups and track evolution will continue to change throughout the weekend. The red flag incident may have affected some teams’ testing programs.
Source: FIA
AI Assistance: Gemini