The drain covers caused another issue, as the delay of FP2 was caused by a loose drain cover discovered in front of the garages. This required a thorough check of all the other covers on the track.
If this becomes a recurring problem with the 2024 generation of Formula 1 cars, the FIA and the tracks must find a solution. It is not acceptable to have these delays happening all the time. Fortunately, this time no cars were damaged and no drivers were affected. However, it cannot be assumed that the same will be true every time.
Moving on to the actual practice session, Fernando Alonso emerged as the fastest driver. The two-time F1 Champion clearly enjoyed driving his AMR24 around the Jeddah track. George Russell came in second, showcasing the speed of the Mercedes team. However, Lewis Hamilton struggled to keep up with his teammate’s pace.
Max Verstappen, the reigning F1 Champion, finished third in the Red Bull, more than three tenths of a second behind Alonso. While Alonso’s lap was impressive, his high speed in the speed trap suggests that the Mercedes power unit in the Aston Martin was performing well.
Verstappen’s best lap was compromised by traffic, so it would be unwise to discount him completely. In the first practice session, Verstappen was the fastest, but the competition was close behind. Despite the track conditions being far from ideal for qualifying and the race, all teams made use of the different Pirelli tyre compounds – Hard, Medium, and Soft.
However, it is FP2 that will provide a better understanding of the hierarchy among the fastest F1 street circuit teams, particularly those behind Red Bull. This session will take place at night, similar to qualifying and the grand prix.
Lance Stroll experienced the challenging nature of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit firsthand. He hit the walls at Turn 22 with significant force, resulting in a broken wheel and a slow return to the pits.
If you missed the incident, you can watch it below.
Mercedes showed promising speed in FP1, with Alonso not far behind Verstappen’s time in the Aston Martin. Ferrari also showed competitiveness. However, it is important not to read too much into these early results and instead focus on FP2.
The start of the second practice session was delayed by ten minutes due to a loose drain cover. Haas provided the update on their social media, stating that all the covers needed to be checked before the session could begin.
Finally, ten minutes after the original start time, FP2 commenced under the floodlights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Exciting news! FP2 will be starting at 20:10 local time (imminently).
The weather conditions were cooler, with the track temperatures measuring 31 degrees Celsius while the surrounding temperature was 25 degrees.
Most of the teams chose to begin the session using Medium Pirelli tires, except for the RBs who opted for Softs. Additionally, a McLaren, a Haas, a Williams, and a Sauber used Hards.
Bottas had a minor incident at Turn 1 in his Sauber, ending up in the run-off area. However, he quickly recovered and continued on.
Ten minutes into the session, Zhou was surprised by Sainz driving slowly, while Sargeant had a tense moment with Hamilton. Fortunately, there was no contact in either case.
Hamilton and Sargeant’s incident will be investigated by the stewards after the session, as announced.
Perez expressed his dissatisfaction over the team radio, complaining about the bouncing through turns 10 and 11. Meanwhile, Russell complained about his unstable high-speed W15.
After 20 minutes of running, Verstappen was leading the time charts, followed by Alonso in second and Sainz in third. Perez, Russell, and Leclerc occupied the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions respectively.
Verstappen was pushing the limits early on, as shown by how close he was to the wall.
With 35 minutes remaining, the drivers returned to the track after making setup changes and the Soft tires started to be used for qualifying runs.
Norris expressed his dissatisfaction with the ride of his MCL38, reporting over the radio that there was too much bottoming.
Alonso had a moment while on a fast lap with Leclerc and his teammate, Stroll, who were driving slowly. He described the situation as dangerous over the radio.
Sainz had a close encounter with a McLaren, while Russell also had a scary moment with Tsunoda. The latter incident was particularly close and alarming.
After the qualifying simulations, the order was as follows: Alonso, Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Stroll, Sainz, Hamilton, Gasly, and Piastri.
The drivers then proceeded with race runs using high fuel loads. Hamilton complained about the rear of his W15, stating over the radio that it was sliding and difficult to control.
Shortly after, Hamilton experienced a loss of power and had to slow down on track before limping back to the pits.
Stroll received a warning from the race director to avoid the painted line at the pit entry.
Alonso set the fastest time in FP2 with a lap of 1:28.827, which was over half a second slower than Perez’s pole time in 2023. Russell was second fastest in the Mercedes, trailing Alonso by 0.230 seconds.
Verstappen was the third fastest driver in the RB20, 0.331 seconds off the pace, followed closely by Leclerc in fourth place.
Report in progress…