The final practice session before qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP was particularly important for some drivers in order to set up their cars for the rest of the weekend – Norris managed this best, at least for this session, and took the top spot on the grid.
McLaren led the way during FP1 and FP2 at the Saudi Arabian GP
McLaren set the pace in Saudi Arabia, with Lando Norris topping FP2 ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen followed in third, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc bounced back from early struggles to finish fourth, just ahead of Carlos Sainz.
Pierre Gasly surprised with the fastest time in FP1, but the spotlight shifted to McLaren under the lights. The session ended early after Yuki Tsunoda crashed at Turn 7, bringing out a red flag. Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto missed all of FP2 due to a fuel leak, a setback ahead of qualifying.
With conditions representative of Qualifying and the Race, McLaren look strong—but Red Bull and Ferrari are close behind.
Green flag for the Final Practice session
At the start of the session, air temperatures sat at a warm 29°C, with the track surface soaring to 52°C, which was noticeably hotter than the previous day. However, with qualifying taking place under floodlights, conditions were expected to cool significantly as the sun dipped below the horizon.
The drop in temperature was anticipated to improve grip levels, though several drivers had already voiced concerns about reduced traction under the earlier, hotter conditions.
Gabriel Bortoleto, making up for lost time after missing FP2, opted for medium tyres to get into a rhythm. Jack Doohan, in contrast, went straight onto the softs in search of a fast early lap.
Over at Aston Martin, both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll headed out on the hard compound, most likely scrubbing tyres in preparation for Sunday’s race rather than pushing for outright pace.
The circuit remained relatively quiet early on, with just a handful of cars circulating. Esteban Ocon joined the track on softs, as Doohan laid down an early benchmark with a 1:30.613.
The first timed laps came in
Both Ferraris emerged on soft tyres, with Lewis Hamilton leading them out onto the track. The Mercedes driver had endured a frustrating Friday, still appearing unable to unlock the full potential of his car.
In contrast, Charles Leclerc had shown much stronger form and sounded far more confident over team radio. While Hamilton has often said his race pace is more competitive, his ongoing qualifying struggles continued to leave him with too much ground to make up on Sundays.
As expected, the circuit was gradually improving and would continue to do so throughout the session and into the later stages of qualifying. Jack Doohan had struggled to match Pierre Gasly on Friday—his Alpine teammate having placed inside the top ten in both practice sessions.
Today, however, Doohan looked much more assured. He made a strong start and appeared to be growing in confidence, with Alpine seemingly in contention with Williams for a place in Q3 of the Saudi Arabian GP.
McLaren were the first to post competitive lap times, with Oscar Piastri holding the early advantage. The Australian clocked a 1:29.118, edging ahead of Lando Norris by 0.085s. Encouragingly, these times were already quicker than those recorded in FP1 under similar track conditions.
Max Verstappen soon went quickest, pipping Piastri by just half a tenth, though it was clear the top spot wouldn’t be his for long. As the surface continued to rubber in, times kept tumbling.
Leclerc then underlined Ferrari’s pace by going fastest of all, setting a 1:28.860—over two-tenths clear of the reigning world champion.
McLaren fought back
Oscar Piastri reclaimed the top spot with a lap of 1:28.470, pushing teammate Lando Norris back down to second. The gap between the two McLarens stood at 0.207 seconds, with Norris losing time through the final corner after a less-than-perfect exit.
Although the times were improving, they still remained over a second slower than last year’s pole position, largely due to the hotter track conditions.
Yuki Tsunoda took a moment over the radio to thank his team for rebuilding his car after Friday’s crash at the Saudi Arabian GP, saying: “Thank you guys for the car.”
McLaren continued to lead the way as expected, with Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton next in the order. Encouragingly for Mercedes, Hamilton looked far more at ease than he had during Friday’s running.
George Russell, however, was down in sixth, with the team possibly suffering more than others in the heat; a recurring issue for Mercedes in similar conditions last season.
The final 20 minutes
Carlos Sainz had kept a low profile for much of the session, completing just one early flying lap before heading back to the garage for adjustments. On his second attempt, still on the same set of soft tyres, he jumped up to fifth. Alex Albon followed a similar run plan and slotted into seventh, just a tenth behind the Spaniard.
With 20 minutes remaining of the last Free Practice of the Saudi Arabian GP, Oscar Piastri was leading the way with a 1:28.470. For context, last year’s pole was a 1:27.472. Norris remained second, 0.207s adrift, though neither McLaren driver nor their main rivals had yet bolted on a second set of softs.
Piastri then found more time on a second run, posting a 1:27.513 thanks to a particularly strong middle sector. Norris attempted to respond but fell short by 0.158 seconds.
George Russell moved up to third, but his time was seven-tenths slower than Piastri’s, the McLaren’s lap having shattered the tightly-packed order that had existed moments before.
The final laps
Albon briefly climbed to fourth, just ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, before Max Verstappen went fifth, pushing the Italian down to seventh. Tsunoda also improved to go sixth.
Leclerc, meanwhile, was off the pace, 0.859s slower than Piastri and a tenth and a half behind Russell. Hamilton had a scruffy start to his run, running wide on his first flying lap and aborting.
Liam Lawson crept into the top ten, while teammate Isack Hadjar remained stuck in the garage with what appeared to be a rear wing change.
Momentum soon swung back to Norris, who went fastest with a 1:27.489, edging Piastri by just 0.024s. Piastri was on a double cooldown and had not yet attempted a response.
Elsewhere, Hamilton queried the gap to the front. When told how far off he was, he could only mutter a disheartened “jeez” over the radio.
Pierre Gasly continued to quietly impress, placing himself inside the top ten once again. A solid run from the French driver, even if it was unlikely to hold to the end.
Final Results
- Norris
- Piastri
- Russell
- Verstappen
- Leclerc
- Albon
- Sainz
- Gasly
- Tsunoda
- Antonelli
- Hadjar
- Hamilton
- Lawson
- Alonso
- Doohan
- Bearman
- Hülkenberg
- Ocon
- Bortoleto
- Stroll
