Pierre Gasly topped F1 FP1 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP with a 1:29.239 for Alpine. Championship leader Lando Norris went second fastest with a 1:29.246 for McLaren, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc third with a 1:29.309.
Making its debut in 2021, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is hosted at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Red Bull has been the most successful team at this venue so far, winning three out of the four races held here.
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Jeddah is on par with Monaco in terms of Qualifying, with this high-speed street circuit being hard to execute successfully.
Green Light
Although the conditions during this session were not representative, the drivers were still eager to complete their installation laps.
Antonelli complained of a āmassive vibration on the brake.ā
All of the drivers, apart from Alex Albon were out on track.
Lando Norris was the first driver to set a timed lap, although he came across a significant amount of traffic.
He set a benchmark time of 1:31.887, with Max Verstappen immediately improving on this with a 1:31.764.
Last weekendās winner Oscar Piastri went two-tenths quicker than the four-time world champion with a 1:31.548 for McLaren.
George Russell slotted into third with a 1:31.860 for Mercedes.
Battle Of The Teammates
Norris replaced teammate Piastri, topping the timings with a 1:30.454.
It has now been confirmed that Piastri has overtaken Norris in the 2025 F1 driversā title winner bookmakersā odds, although the British driver is still leading the Championship.
Tumbling Times
With 10 minutes down, many of the drivers were continually improving as the track evolved.
A big lock-up for Oliver Bearman saw him brush the wall heading into Turn 1, although he was able to continue.
Norris bettered his time to a 1:29.980, making him the first driver to go under the 1:30 mark.
He was proceeded by Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Antonelli, Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar to complete the top 10.
Gabriel Bortoleto had a difficult moment in the last corner, with Jack Doohan also locking up and Piastri brushing the wall.
Russell topped the timings once again with a 1:29.674.
In The Pits
All of the leading cars went to the pits to review the opening 20 minutes of the session.
Liam Lawson was noted for failing to follow the race directorās instructions.
Yuki Tsunoda set his first flying lap of the weekend, slotting into fourth position +0.565 behind the leader.
Pierre Gasly was also in the mix, going fifth quickest for Alpine, ahead of Piastri.
Soft Tyre Runs
Sainz was the first of the runners to go out on the Soft tyres.
Setting three personal best sectors, the Williams driver went second with a 1:29.191.
The McLaren drivers followed suit, also going out on the Soft tyres.
Going purple is Sector 3, Piastri slotted into second, with teammate Norris topping the timings with a 1:29.246.
Verstappen went into fourth on his first Soft tyre run, with Nico Hulkenberg notably going fifth for Stake, +0.670 behind the leader.
Leclerc then made the top five, replacing Verstappen for fourth after his first Soft tyre run.
Tsunoda matched Verstappenās time, with the Dutch driver complaining that he couldnāt āturn the carā in Sectors 1 and 2.
25 Minutes Remaining
Norris still led the field, with Piastri going quicker in the final sector to go second, +0.187 behind his teammate.
Remarkably, Gasly then charged to the top with a 1:29.239 for Alpine on the Soft tyre.
Alpine will be aiming for Q3 in Saturdayās Qualifying session.
Leclerc split the McLaren drivers, going into third behind Norris with a 1:29.309 for Ferrari.
Russell and both of the McLaren drivers switched back to the Medium tyres, with most of the drivers following suit.
10 Minutes Remaining
It was confirmed that Lawson would be summoned after the session for āentering the painted area between the pit entry and the trackā twice.
Gasly still led the session, ahead of Norris, Leclerc, Piastri and the Williams of Alex Albon.
Pierre Gasly topped F1 FP1 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP with a 1:29.239 for Alpine. Championship leader Lando Norris went second fastest with a 1:29.246 for McLaren, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc third with a 1:29.309.
Featured Image Credit: Alpine
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