Max Verstappen, representing Red Bull Racing, was the fastest in the final practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Formula 1. However, there are concerns about Guanyu Zhou’s participation in the qualifying session after he crashed his Sauber into the barrier at Turn 8. Verstappen set a time of 1:28.412s, giving him a two-tenth advantage over Charles Leclerc from Ferrari. Despite the session resuming with five minutes remaining, Verstappen’s time remained unbeaten. Leclerc came closest to challenging Verstappen, with Sergio Perez trailing behind by 0.494s.
Ferrari’s performance in the race will depend on Leclerc, as Carlos Sainz will not be able to participate due to an appendicitis diagnosis. Oliver Bearman, a Ferrari Junior, has taken Sainz’s place and is set to become the third youngest driver in F1 history to compete in a grand prix. Bearman showed promise from the beginning and received positive feedback on his performance in the high-speed sections. He finished 10th overall, 0.894s behind Verstappen.
Lando Norris initially had the potential to challenge Verstappen’s time, but he aborted the run. However, he later improved and secured a spot in the top five. The two Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, finished sixth and seventh respectively, with George Russell from Mercedes in fourth place. Lewis Hamilton, using a different rear wing setup, struggled and ended up in ninth place, three-tenths behind his teammate.
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen briefly held the fourth position but dropped to 11th, while Nico Hulkenberg finished 15th in the sister car. Alpine managed to avoid being at the bottom of the timesheets, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in 12th and 14th place respectively. Yuki Tsunoda, driving for RB, finished between the two Alpine drivers.
Daniel Ricciardo finished in 16th place, followed by Alex Albon and the two Sauber drivers. Valtteri Bottas was 1.6s off the pace, with Guanyu Zhou, unable to participate in the session, trailing seven-tenths behind. Logan Sargeant from Williams failed to set a time as his session was cut short when he hit the inside barrier at Turn 22.