Fernando Alonso went fastest in the second free practice session in Saudi Arabia. The Spaniard was already showing speed in low-fuel, taking Pole Position in FP1. Behind Alonso were George Russell and Max Verstappen. P4 and P7 were Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. On the qualification front, everything remains open. There are positive signs from Ferrari’s long-run simulations.
FP2 Saudi Arabia: Compact top teams, but Verstappen still superior in race trim
It’s difficult to understand how far Aston Martin can go this weekend in Jeddah. What is certain, however, is that Alonso is starting well in his AMR24.
What still cannot be overlooked is that Aston Martin likely ran a higher engine mapping. Race pace simulations confirm that Aston Martin is further away than on low fuel.
In the qualifying simulation, George Russell brought his Mercedes to within two-tenths of Alonso.
On the other side of the garage, Hamilton continued to struggle with rear instability. This had a greater impact on performance relative to his teammate.
It was not exactly the best of days for the 7-time World Champion. At the end of the session, he noticed a drop in power as he suffered from potential reliability issues.
Hamilton was also involved in a dangerous moment with Logan Sargeant. Traffic will almost certainly play a factor in Friday qualifying.
Precisely on this front, the teams worked on the durability of the soft tyre, in anticipation of possible multiple attempts in qualifying.
Focusing on Ferrari, on the SF-24 the rear rear wing of the FP1 was retained, choosing the lighter beam wing.
This affected performance in the flying lap, paying the price on the straights. Ferrari must consider this ahead of race day, given how important top speed will be.
However, Ferrari can look forward to the GP with confidence based on their race simulations.
Charles Leclerc showed excellent competitiveness, albeit still behind Max Verstappen.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the ninth time of Gasly’s Alpine, which tries to reverse the trend compared to a forgettable start to the season.
The performances at McLaren remain to be deciphered, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who finished with the tenth and twelfth time, respectively, in the qualifying simulation.
McLaren gave good signals in the central sector. Still, their performance across all three sectors remains unknown. Ahead of Qualifying in Jeddah, there is no shortage of ingredients for an open qualifying.
Alonso and Verstappen, together with Russell, showed the most of their raw pace.
Ferrari cannot be overlooked, with Frédéric Vasseur confirming at the end of FP2 that set-up changes are likely.
Author: Loris Preziosa
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
