The second free run of the 2022 F1 Round 2 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was held at the Jeddah Cornish Circuit on Friday, March 25, with Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari) setting the fastest time.
During the first free run, an Aramco oil refinery near the circuit exploded after being attacked by a missile from the Yemeni armed organization “Houthi”. Before the second free practice session, all team representatives and drivers were convened and explained.
Still, the second free practice session was carried out. The start is delayed by 15 minutes and starts at 20:15 local time. A 60-minute session was held, not shortened. The temperature of the circuit, which was already set and illuminated by the lights, dropped to 21 degrees Celsius and the road surface temperature was 24 degrees Celsius.
Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari set the fastest time for the first free practice session. He marked 1’30.074 with soft tires, but shortly afterwards he hit the wall with the left front tire and slowly returned to the pits to round up the session. Carlos Sainz, who recorded the 3rd fastest time, also suffered damage to the machine due to contact and finished in 12 laps. Time is a medium tire. The two Ferraris finished the session without being able to make a long run in race conditions.
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is second. Due to the yellow flag appearing during the soft attack, the best time was 1’30.320, which was a medium record at the beginning of the session. His teammate Sergio Perez was in the same situation, marking a medium 4th fastest time of 1’30.360. So far, it hasn’t taken the lead over Ferrari as much as the practice of the opening round.
Lewis Hamilton was in 5th place, George Russell and Mercedes F1 were in 6th place, and the top 6 teams were in the top six. However, Mercedes F1 was a session that was busy dealing with the problem of popping. Hamilton was uncomfortable with the seat position and changed his height during the session. In the on-board video, it was still straight and the helmet was moving up and down violently.
Lando Norris (McLaren) is 7th, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) is 8th, and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) is 9th. Bottas has rounded up the session early due to electrical problems.
The 10th fastest time was recorded by Yuki Tsunoda of Scuderia AlphaTauri. However, Yuki Tsunoda had a problem with the machine just before the end of the session. The team instructed me to switch it off and stopped the car beside the course. The yellow flag was presented and the session ended as it was. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) is in 11th place, and 11th place teammate Pierre Guthrie. AlphaTauri struggled in FP2, where the temperature dropped in the previous race in Bahrain, but Saudi Arabia did not feel as strong as during the day.
Kevin Magnussen of the Haas F1 Team, who could not record the time due to a hydraulic trouble in the morning, stopped the machine on the course again in the afternoon due to a hydraulic trouble. His first circuit was only 13 laps and it was the second day.
Saudi Arabia is under a missile attack from Yemen, but F1 says it will schedule tomorrow and beyond. However, the driver’s media session after driving on the first day was cancelled.
The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be qualifying for the third free run from 23:00 (17:00 local time) on Saturday, March 26, and from 26:00 (20:00 local time).
2022 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2nd free practice result / time
Category: Category: F1 / F1 race results / F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix