After a thrilling Bahrain GP race won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, the 20 F1 drivers took to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, kicking off the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP with Free Practice 1, the first of the weekend’s three Free Practice sessions. In a surprising twist, however, it was not either Piastri or his teammate Norris who topped the opening session of the F1 weekend. Instead, it was Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished atop the timesheets, 0.007 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the top 3, with Piastri finishing P4.
Piastri claims fourth career win after dominant Bahrain GP race
McLaren have been in fine form throughout the early part of 2025, with Piastri’s sensational win under the lights of the Sakhir International Circuit being his second and the Woking-based team’s third of the season. In Bahrain, Piastri, who started from pole position, capitalised on his MCL39’s strong pace to build an early lead.
This proved especially useful in the final stages of the race, where he built on McLaren’s excellent tyre strategy to cross the line over 15 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Russell, who battled technical issues and a relentless Lando Norris in the final stint of the race, held on the P2, crossing the line less than a second ahead of his McLaren countryman.
Ferrari, meanwhile, settled for P4 and P5 with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton respectively. Despite Leclerc starting from P2, and battling fiercely throughout the race, neither he nor his teammate were a match for Russell or the McLarens. With them having to change onto the hard compound tyre instead of the preferred mediums, neither driver could properly fight for a place on the podium. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, finished P6 after pipping Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the final lap of the race.
McLaren sets the early pace
With a track temperature of 50° Celcius, the drivers faced a hot 2025 Saudi Arabian GP Free Practice 1 around the 27-track circuit. For the the likes of Ferrari, which introduced a new floor in Bahrain, the smooth track offered a chance to properly assess the performance of their critical upgrade. While the new floor did offer the team some improved performance in Bahrain, Leclerc claimed that Bahrain did not offer the best opportunity to show its potential. As he told media, ahead of the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, he expects further gains in Jeddah.
As the lights went green at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, on the hard tyres, led the drivers onto the track. With the this track requiring good straight-line speed, many cars wore the neon flow vis paint on their rear wings, with teams hoping to collect additional aerodymanics data. After five minutes of track, Bahrain race-winner Oscar Piastri, on the medium tyres, claimed the top time, putting in a 1:31.548. He beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen’s time by 0.216 seconds, while Mercedes’ George Russell settled for third, 0.312 seconds behind Piastri.
Norris, who had been fourth, then went top nine minutes into the session, putting in a 1:30.2525 as Verstappen improved to reclaim P2. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, also on the medium tyres went P3, getting ahead of Alonso who slotted into P4, with Piastri improving to put in a time just 0.113 seconds behind his teammate.
Sainz the top performer on hard tyres
Within the first ten minutes of the session, Williams Racing’s Carlos Sainz, who seemed to have struggled to find his footing at the Grove-based team, was the top performer on the hard tyres, settling for P5, as Haas’ Oliver Bearman, also on the hard tyres, narrowly missed the wall after locking up. His moment mirrored that of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who suffered a similar lock up in the opening minutes of the session. Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto has a similar escape a few minutes later.
Sainz, still on the hard tyres, then improved to P3, as Bearman, and Alpine’s Jack Doohan, who suffered a similar lock-up, returned to the pit lane for an assessment of their car.
Russell goes top 15 minutes in
Mercedes’ George Russell was the first driver to set a time under 1:30, claiming the top time as McLaren’s Piastri and Norris returned to their garages with the former also clipping the wall. Russell and Verstappen then returned to the pit lane, with the latter in P3. It had been a busy first quarter of the session for the drivers, with teams hoping to collect as possible before Saturday’s Qualifying and Sunday’s Race. For the drivers, the three Free Practice sessions offered a vital chance for the drivers to familarise themselves with the trick, fast-paced circuit.
Piastri then went second, improving to 1:29.433, as Sainz dropped Leclerc to fifth after putting in a 1:29.779 to go fourth. With just under 23 minutes left, Gasly jumped to the top of the timesheet, setting a 1:29.239. Leclerc then imprpved to P3 with a 1:29.309. With just under one-third of the session remaining, 2.268 separated Gasly in P1 from Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar in P20.
Albon P5 into final 20 minutes of the session
Just into the final 20 minutes of the session, Albon improved to P5, setting an impressive 1:29.606. Hamilton, then improved to P8 on nine-lap old tyres. Though a significant improvement, he remained more that 0.5 seconds off Leclerc. Things seemed settled as the drivers prepared for the final minutes of the Saudi Arabian GP Free Practice 1, with Gasly holding on to his lead against the likes of Norris, despite the MCL39’s faster pace.
Hadjar at the back with minutes left
With just about 10 minutes left, the two Racing Bulls emerged on fresh soft tyres. However, though out of sync with the rest of the field, they faced cooler track temperatures. This helped Lawson propel himself into P11, after spending most of the second half of the session near the back of the back. Hadjar, however, abandoned his effort, and was quick on the radio to debate with his engineer. However, with time ticking down, and with many drivers practicing long runs, he faced the risk of heavy traffic on his potential fastlap.
With the top five drivers in the pits, Russell’s Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, improved to P7, before returning to the pits. Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda, who started the season with sister team Racing Bulls, then improved to P4, as Sainz’s William’s teammate, Alex Albon went P7. Williams had an impressive start to the session, outperforming the likes of Ferrari, who saw Leclerc and Hamilton in P9 and P11 after 20 minutes of practice.
Pierre Gasly also had a strong start to the session. With 37 minutes left on the clock, he found himself in P5, 0.644 seconds off Russell. Alonso, who has yet to score points in the 2025 season, split the two Ferrari cars.
Doohan then improved to P9, putting in a time that was just 0.851 seconds off Russell. With the track starting to cool, however, and with drivers emerging from the pit lane on fresher tyres, times were set to continue to tumble in the second half of the session.
Sainz the first on the soft tyres
With just over 30 minutes left in the session, Sainz went second, putting settling 0.245 seconds off Russell. He dropped to third when Piastri improved, to go within 0.040 seconds of Russell, and then to fourth as Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg went third.
Norris then improved to 1:29.246, as Leclerc, who had been fairly unimpressive in the first half of the season went fourth, settling ahead of Verstappen in P5 with a 1:29.818. Verstappen complained about his car’s drivability in the low-speed, noting issues with turning. With just over 26 minutes left on the clock, Tsunoda improved to P6, finishing his lap 0.641 seconds behind his teammate.
With just over a minute left on the clock, Hadjar, finally improved to go P15 with a 1:30.011. Though some time off his teammate, it was an impressive attempt for the rookie, who was denied any further opportunity to improve.
Ultimately, it was Gasly who sat atop the timesheets as the chequred flag waved, just 0.007 seconds ahead of Norris in P3, and 0.070 seconds ahead of Leclerc in P3. Gabriel Bortoleto, sat at bottom, 1.799 seconds off Gasly. Lawson, meanwhile was summoned to the Stewards for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions by crossing the white line at the pit entry.
Full Session Results
- Pierre Gasly
- Lando Norris
- Charles Leclerc
- Oscar Piastri
- Alex Albon
- George Russell
- Carlos Sainz
- Lewis Hamilton
- Max Verstappen
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Liam Lawson
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kimi Antonelli
- Fernando Alonso
- Isack Hadjar
- Jack Doohan
- Lance Stroll
- Oliver Bearman
- Esteban Ocon
- Gabriel Bortoleto
