F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Gasly fastest in FP1 with McLaren…

F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Gasly fastest in FP1 with McLaren also looking strong

Pierre Gasly was the surprise pacesetter in the first practice session ahead of the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

With the McLarens once again widely expected to dominate running, it was the Alpine of Gasly which ultimately clocked the fastest time with an impressive 1m29.239s.

It saw him pip Lando Norris to top spot, the lead McLaren just 0.007 seconds behind, with team-mate Oscar Piastri in fourth as the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was third.

Piastri immediately set the pace at the start of the weekend’s running although Norris – who said he was not heading into the fifth round of the championship full of confidence – soon displaced the Australian.

Having again been as open with the media as he has become known for, Norris said on Thursday he did not expect to arrive in Jeddah having corrected the issues he is experiencing with the driveability of the McLaren – even if he will start Sunday’s race three points clear at the top of the championship.

While he and Piastri continued to push one another, the other usual suspects - George Russell for Mercedes and the reigning world champion Max Verstappen - were once again there or thereabouts at the business end of the timing screens.

Lando Norris, McLaren (Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli - Getty Images)

Russell bested the pace of the McLaren duo until the soft tyres went on up and down the pit lane just heading into the second half of the hour-long session.

After that it appeared as though it would be business as usual with Norris pumping in another fastest lap effort, only for Gasly to usurp the championship leader with his own fine attempt.

Williams also looked strong in the early running around the narrow and fast Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Alex Albon fifth and Carlos Sainz seventh, sandwiching Russell.

Lewis Hamilton was over half a second down on Ferrari team-mate Leclerc and had to settle for eighth, with Verstappen – again bemoaning a lack of balance in his Red Bull – ninth while Yuki Tsuonda kept his Red Bull stablemate honest in 10th.

Liam Lawson, demoted from Red Bull to Racing Bulls ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, was next in 11th, less than a tenth of a second off the pace of his replacement.

F1 Saudi Arabian GP - FP1 results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	25	1'29.239		S	249.065
2	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	25	+0.007 1'29.246	0.007	S	249.046
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	28	+0.070 1'29.309	0.063	S	248.870
4	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	25	+0.102 1'29.341	0.032	S	248.781
5	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	23	+0.367 1'29.606	0.265	S	248.045
6	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	21	+0.379 1'29.618	0.012	S	248.012
7	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	26	+0.540 1'29.779	0.161	S	247.567
8	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	27	+0.576 1'29.815	0.036	S	247.468
9	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	26	+0.579 1'29.818	0.003	S	247.460
10	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22	Red Bull	Red Bull	26	+0.582 1'29.821	0.003	S	247.452
11	L. Lawson RB	30	RB	Honda	19	+0.668 1'29.907	0.086	S	247.215
12	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	25	+0.677 1'29.916	0.009	S	247.190
13	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	24	+0.695 1'29.934	0.018	S	247.141
14	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	24	+0.737 1'29.976	0.042	S	247.025
15	I. Hadjar RB	6	RB	Honda	15	+0.772 1'30.011	0.035	S	246.929
16	J. Doohan Alpine	7	Alpine	Renault	25	+0.944 1'30.183	0.172	S	246.458
17	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	23	+1.344 1'30.583	0.400	S	245.370
18	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	21	+1.356 1'30.595	0.012	S	245.338
19	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	21	+1.790 1'31.029	0.434	S	244.168
20	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	23	+1.799 1'31.038	0.009	S	244.144
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