Fernando Alonso of the Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24 was the fastest driver during Thursday’s practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. Alonso set a time of 1:28.827s, putting him two-tenths ahead of his closest competitor, George Russell. Reigning champion Max Verstappen finished in third place, followed by Charles Leclerc. Sergio Perez initially held the fastest time, but Alonso and Verstappen eventually surpassed him. There was a close call between Logan Sargeant, Lewis Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz, resulting in both Hamilton and Sargeant facing the Stewards. Alonso reclaimed the top spot after the first attempts on the Soft compound tires, with Russell improving to second place. Verstappen showed strong race pace on the Medium tires, finishing third overall. Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton completed the top eight. Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top ten. The remaining drivers, led by Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, Guanyu Zhou, and Alex Albon, finished outside of a second from Alonso’s fastest time. Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, the Haas duo, Daniel Ricciardo, and Valtteri Bottas completed the order.
It was a well-deserved victory for Norris, who held the record for the most podium finishes without a win (15), including eight second-place finishes, in 110 grand prix...
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