Saudi Arabian GP: Gasly steals the show in Jeddah FP1

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit roared to life for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly delivered an upset in the opening practice session.

Clocking a blistering 1m29.239s, Gasly snatched the top spot in an incident-free afternoon that set the stage for an unpredictable weekend, even if the session’s conditions differed from qualifying and race day.

With McLaren tipped to dominate, Gasly defied expectations, edging out Lando Norris by a mere 0.007s and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.070s.

• Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

The Alpine charger’s late flyer on soft tyres shook up the pecking order. Norris, leading the drivers’ championship by three points, admitted pre-session that he’s still grappling with the MCL39’s driveability.

Yet, he and teammate Oscar Piastri – who finished fourth – kept McLaren firmly in the mix, sandwiching Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.

McLaren’s Early Pace Fades

Piastri kicked off the session with authority, setting the initial benchmark, only for Norris to swiftly take over. The McLaren duo traded fastest laps until George Russell’s Mercedes briefly stole the spotlight.

But as teams bolted on soft tyres midway through the hour, Gasly’s heroics overshadowed Norris’ late push, hinting that Alpine might have unlocked something special for Jeddah’s high-speed sweeps.

The familiar frontrunners weren’t far off. Russell secured sixth, while reigning champion Max Verstappen, still frustrated by his Red Bull’s balance, settled for ninth.

Williams impressed with Alex Albon in fifth, while his teammate Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari took seventh, splitting Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who lagged over half a second behind Leclerc in eighth.

Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10, nipping at Verstappen’s heels, with Liam Lawson close behind in 11th, just 0.1s off Tsunoda.

Jeddah’s Early Verdict

While FP1’s afternoon timing limits its relevance, the session offered a tantalizing glimpse of the pecking order.

Gasly’s pace suggests Alpine could be a dark horse, but McLaren’s consistency and Ferrari’s lurking threat keep them as favorites.

Verstappen’s struggles, meanwhile, raised more questions than answers about Red Bull’s form.

With Jeddah’s narrow, unforgiving layout demanding precision, Friday’s opening skirmish promises a thrilling battle as teams fine-tune for the evening session ahead.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook