As the sun dipped behind the Saudi Arabian skyline and floodlights bathed the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in a golden glow, Formula 1 roared back to life for Free Practice 2.
With cooler evening temperatures dropping the track surface to 37°C, teams finally got a representative read on the conditions they’ll face in both qualifying and the race — and they didn’t hold back.
The Jeddah street circuit, known for its unforgiving mix of high-speed straights and tight, technical turns, kept drivers on edge. The denser, cooler air increased downforce and drag, and those who had dialled in their setups for the night-time sessions began to reveal their hands.
Max Verstappen was quick out of the blocks, laying down an early benchmark of 1:29.896 on medium tyres.
Yuki Tsunoda kept close, just three-tenths off his teammate’s pace. But McLaren soon flexed its muscles — Lando Norris vaulted to the top with a blistering 1:29.272, also on mediums, a full six-tenths clear of Verstappen.
While most of the field stuck with the medium compound, Alex Albon opted for hards, gathering long-run data.
Meanwhile, Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar continued their FP2 learning curve, Lawson going 10th fastest early on, narrowly ahead of Hadjar. Both drivers would return to the pits for system checks and pit stop practice.
Drama struck when Lance Stroll locked up and spun at Turn 1, triggering a brief yellow flag, but he was able to rejoin the session with no damage.
Charles Leclerc soon surged up the order, just two-tenths shy of Norris’s benchmark, before Oscar Piastri lit up the timing screens — purple in Sector 1 and narrowly missing P1 by a mere one-thousandth of a second, making it a McLaren 1-2.
Tensions flared briefly as Verstappen impeded Norris during a flying lap, a moment that didn’t go unnoticed. Meanwhile, Hadjar found more pace, leaping from 17th to 11th before returning to the garage.
Leclerc upped the ante with a scorching 1:29.002, taking over at the top — but the soft tyre runners were just getting started.
Lawson was the first to bolt on the red-walled compound and instantly jumped to fourth, slashing 1.3 seconds off his earlier effort.
Tsunoda answered back moments later, reclaiming fourth despite sticking with mediums.
George Russell then dipped into the 1:28s with a 1:28.973 on softs before reporting high-speed bouncing over the team radio. Carlos Sainz bettered that with a 1:28.942, but Verstappen delivered a statement lap — purple in all three sectors and a blistering 1:28.547, eclipsing Sainz by nearly four-tenths.
The session entered its most intense phase as soft tyres became the norm. Hadjar climbed to 8th, just over a tenth ahead of Lawson. But Piastri had more to give — his flying lap saw green in Sector 1, purple in Sector 2, and a tidy final sector to take P1 with a 1:28.430.
Norris responded almost immediately, edging ahead by a tenth to assert McLaren’s authority with a 1:28.267.
Jack Doohan’s flyer was compromised after bouncing over the Turn 10 kerb, sparks trailing behind as he went 17th.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton struggled to find pace, ending the session 13th fastest and over a second adrift despite running softs. Leclerc held onto fourth, keeping Ferrari in the mix.
With just under 20 minutes remaining, rookie Kimi Antonelli clipped the wall at the final corner and returned to the pits. As track traffic eased, Sainz, Verstappen, and Stroll took advantage of the cleaner air — but the calm didn’t last.
A heavy crash for Tsunoda brought out the red flag with nine minutes to go. The Japanese driver clipped the apex of the final corner, damaging the steering arm and suspension before slamming into the wall. Though unhurt, his session was over, and his RB21 suffered significant damage.
“First, a big apology to my team today about the accident; I just turned in too much and clipped the wall and inside wheel. I had damage after that and just had no control. It is frustrating because the pace was looking good, so it’s a shame but also a positive, as I was getting the car in a good window.” said Tsunoda
FP2 resumed briefly in the final minute for practice starts, but the red flag ruined several drivers’ final push laps.
The session ended with a commanding McLaren 1-2: Norris on top with a 1:28.267, followed closely by Piastri. Verstappen slotted into third ahead of Leclerc, Sainz, and the unlucky Tsunoda, who still held sixth. Russell, Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Albon rounded out the top 10.
“A good start to the weekend and a productive first day on track, getting comfy in the car and building confidence. We’ve got good data available with plenty of laps recorded, so I’ll keep working hard overnight with the team, focusing on the different areas we’ve identified in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying,” said Norris.
Hadjar and Lawson finished 12th and 14th, respectively, both unable to improve due to the late red flag. While in the garage, Racing Bulls engineers inspected both cars’ floors, especially after Hadjar reported riding the kerbs a bit too hard on his final run.
“FP1 was busy, but it was nice to drive an F1 car here as it’s the first time I’ve done that. The track lives up to the hype; it was very fast and very cool. We had a productive day and tried a lot of different things.” said Lawson
“Tyres wise, we’ll try and learn what we can before tomorrow. It’s hard to tell how we’re doing pace-wise, as we still need to find some time relative to some of our competitors in the midfield. Alpine and Williams were strong today, so we need to make a step, but that’s what we’re working on hard now.” he continued.
Meanwhile, Hadjar talked about the challenging practice sessions so far.
“It was hard to get the balance together today. I feel there is room for improvement, which is reassuring because I know it’s not the best we can do. It’s the fastest street circuit that exists, so it requires a lot of focus; it’s really tough but enjoyable.
“I will definitely be better tomorrow after a night of sleep. These cars give you so much confidence; we will be fighting for Q3 tomorrow, but making it is a different story,” said Hadjar
Hamilton is under scrutiny after a close call with Alexander Albon during the session. The Ferrari driver appeared to impede Albon on a flying lap, forcing the Williams car to take evasive action in what was described as a dangerously close moment.
Race Control noted the incident, and Hamilton was summoned to the stewards following the session for further review. It was later confirmed that he escaped punishment.
Due to a fuel leak, Gabriel Bortoleto could not make it out in FP2.
As the lights faded on a dramatic second practice, the stage is set for what promises to be a thrilling qualifying session under the stars in Saudi Arabia.
Header Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
