P1racenews AI automatic summary:
F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen pips Alonso to lead first practice
Verstappen, who won the Bahrain Grand Prix last week, dominated FP1 in Jeddah by topping the timing sheet with a 1m29.659s on soft tires, surpassing George Russell’s Mercedes in the process. Despite Alonso getting close to Verstappen’s time, the session’s conditions differed from those expected in night-time qualifying and the race. Breezy conditions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit provided further challenges, with varying tire choices between the teams. Russell briefly reclaimed the top spot before Verstappen set the fastest lap of the session with a time under 90 seconds. Perez managed to secure the second-fastest time, with Alonso and Russell closely following behind in the overall times. Hamilton faced rear-bouncing issues, while Stroll overcame an early setback to secure the ninth-fastest lap time. Albon completed the top 10, with Ricciardo, Ocon, and Sargeant trailing closely behind.
