Charles Leclerc set the quickest lap time of the opening practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
After a slight break, Formula 1 came back to action for the Saudi Arabian GP, which started with the FP1 on Friday afternoon.
As soon as the pit exit was opened, the drivers started their practice programs around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The day did not start well for Kevin Magnussen – he was called to come back to the pits and not shift gears. Haas confirmed eventually that Magnussen’s car suffered a hydraulic leak and the Dane was forced to miss the practice.
The session was red-flagged to remove the debris from the board that had been hit by Lando Norris in turn 1. After the track was cleared, the on-track action resumed.
Both Ferrari drivers left their garages for the first time when the green flag was out.
The drivers were mainly working with the Soft and Hard tires. Numerous small incidents showed proved how tricky the track was once again. Porpoising also was a concern.
Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets of the session. Max Verstappen had the second fastest lap with Hard tires, while Valtteri Bottas completed the top 3.
The results of the Saudi Arabian GP FP1:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap | Tire |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.772 | S |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +0.116 | H |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +0.312 | S |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.367 | S |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.545 | S |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +0.733 | S |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | +0.791 | S |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.254 | S |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1.592 | S |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +1.609 | S |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +1.734 | S |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.810 | S |
| 13 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.822 | S |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +1.836 | S |
| 15 | George Russell | Mercedes | +2.067 | S |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Aston Martin | +2.262 | S |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +2.315 | S |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | +2.757 | S |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | +3.657 | M |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | No time |
Hi everyone! My name is Anton, I am 19 years old and I am an aspiring motorsports journalist. I love motorsports for those emotions and excitement it brings.
