Lando Norris edged out Oscar Piastri to top the charts in final practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the McLaren pair enjoyed a dominant advantage.
Norris came into this weekend with a three-point lead over Piastri in the championship standings after the Australian’s victory in Bahrain.
Piastri, who became the first driver to win multiple races this season last weekend, finished the session just 0.024 seconds adrift of Norris.
Practice = complete ✅
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George Russell was the closest challenger to the pair for Mercedes but he was over six tenths behind.
Norris also led the way in second practice on Friday, which is the session that best mirrors the evening conditions for qualifying and the race on the shores of the Red Sea.
In Saturday afternoon’s running, Max Verstappen was fourth but again battled issues with his Red Bull, complaining of “weird engine braking” and he was a whopping eight tenths off the pace.
Charles Leclerc claimed fifth for Ferrari and Williams enjoyed a strong session as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively.
Lewis Hamilton struggled again for Ferrari. The seven-time world champion, who finished Friday 13th fastest, was down in 12th and 1.291 seconds adrift of Norris’ time.
The 40-year-old asked his race engineer how far down he was in each sector, being told seven tenths in the first and four tenths in the second.
“Jeez,” Hamilton replied.
Qualifying for Sunday’s race gets under way at 2000 local time (1800 BST).
