Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two in the second practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, lapping within a second of last year’s pole position time.
Max Verstappen put Red Bull second-fastest among the teams, having briefly set the fastest time before it was beaten by the two McLaren drivers.
His team mate Yuki Tsunoda was four tenths of a second behind him in sixth place. However his session ended early after he crashed.
Tsunoda clipped the barrier on the inside of the final corner, which sent his RB21 into the wall on the outside. The car was heavily damaged in the crash, which was severe enough for the Medical Car to be deployed, but Tsunoda told his team he was unhurt as he climbed out.
The session was therefore red-flagged for most of the final seven minutes before being restarted with a minute to go. All the remaining drivers bar Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar emerged in order to be able to perform practice starts.
Charles Leclerc was fourth-fastest for Ferrari, but did several laps on his set of soft tyres before finally setting a time. His team mate Lewis Hamilton was only 13th, 1.1 seconds off the pace, and also incurred the wrath of the stewards.
Hamilton badly held up Alexander Albon early in the session, prompting an angry reaction from the Williams driver. The stewards announced they will investigate it.
Carlos Sainz Jnr set the fifth-fastest time ahead of Tsunoda, followed by George Russell in the first of the Mercedes. Pierre Gasly, who was fastest in first practice, fell to eighth in this session, complaining about his braking performance at one stage.
Nico Hulkenberg took ninth in the only Sauber to appear during the session. His team mate Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to take part as Sauber discovered a fuel leak on his car following first practice and had to dismantle it to investigate the cause. Alexander Albon completed the top 10.
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Grand Prix second practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’28.267 | 21 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’28.430 | 0.163 | 22 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.547 | 0.280 | 23 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.749 | 0.482 | 22 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.942 | 0.675 | 24 |
| 6 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.963 | 0.696 | 19 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’28.973 | 0.706 | 21 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’29.106 | 0.839 | 22 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’29.193 | 0.926 | 21 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’29.220 | 0.953 | 23 |
| 11 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’29.242 | 0.975 | 16 |
| 12 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’29.306 | 1.039 | 17 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’29.371 | 1.104 | 23 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’29.488 | 1.221 | 22 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’29.662 | 1.395 | 18 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’29.754 | 1.487 | 19 |
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’29.912 | 1.645 | 21 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’30.007 | 1.740 | 18 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’30.019 | 1.752 | 22 |
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Red Bull made tactical decision not to avoid a penalty in Jeddah, Horner confirms
- Norris’s starts were far poorer than Verstappen’s but the balance is shifting
- McLaren’s rivals “just one upgrade away from being the lead car” – Brown
- Russell told race control what he thought of Verstappen’s first lap corner cut
- Doohan’s final corner pass on Bortoleto was F1’s closest fight for last place in seven years
BasCB (@bascb)
18th April 2025, 19:10
It does look like the McLaren cars have the best handling here, although the Ferrari looked pretty decent on the mediums and Max already showed he’s always close if the car is halfway decent.
erikje (@erikje)
18th April 2025, 19:20
Yes, Leclerc on the mediums looks very impressive. He’ll be fighting for pole and the win this weekend.
Hamilton well I guess 0.6 off your team mate consistently throughout all practice laps really doesn’t look good. No way does he make Q3 tomorrow. Looking forward to this weeks excuse.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
18th April 2025, 20:19
Will that be the same excuse he used when he won the Sprint Race recently…?
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
18th April 2025, 20:42
Pretty sure they will use the hard instead in the race…
Leo B
18th April 2025, 20:46
That’s right Oscar. Let Norris win everything except the second run in Q3.
Jungle
19th April 2025, 1:06
Norris quicker with and without the diffuser upgrade. So who uses it in qualifying and the race? I only just read the other day that this year any Mclaren up grade introduced would be available for both cars….