Saudi Arabia Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Leclerc still ahead of Verstappen

It is in an atmosphere that we do not like to see that this second free practice session has started.

After the attack on an oil refinery a few kilometers from the circuit, the paddock was on edge and teams felt a certain apprehension as they were unsure if their safety was guaranteed. A meeting will take place at 8pm to discuss the rest of the weekend. Despite a delay of over fifteen minutes at the start, the session was able to proceed without any issues.

Leclerc in the lead but makes a mistake.

Like in the first session, Charles Leclerc was the fastest. The Monegasque driver surpassed Max Verstappen by more than a tenth, but the reigning champion was on medium tires. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez follow in the rankings, also on the yellow compound, showcasing the dominance of Red Bull and Ferrari at the moment over the rest of the field. However, Leclerc was unable to finish the session after hitting one of the walls on the narrow Saudi circuit, just like his teammate Carlos Sainz. With these mistakes, the Reds were unable to work on their race pace unlike the Red Bulls.

The Mercedes cars took fifth and sixth place in a still temperamental W13. George Russell once again complained about the handling of his car, while Lewis Hamilton had his seat changed at the beginning of the session. Lando Norris sets the seventh fastest time behind the Silver Arrows, showing that the MCL36 is less struggling on a high-speed circuit.

Coming back to Earth for Haas

While Günther Steiner was living a waking dream after Kévin Magnussen’s P5 in Bahrain, the team director had a harsh reality check. Magnussen had a disastrous day: deprived of the first practice session due to a hydraulic problem, the Danish driver could only complete 13 laps in the second session before his engine gave up. Haas will need to quickly work on the reliability of their car if the glimpsed improvement is to be more than a false hope.