Track activity begins for Saturday in the city of Jeddah, where FP3 opens the day’s F1 sessions. This session allows teams to test and prepare for this evening’s qualifying. Here’s our recap of what happened during FP3 of the Saudi Arabian GP.
Track activity began on time, but only a few drivers took to the track when the green flag waved. For Yuki Tsunoda, running was delayed because mechanics had to reassemble the car after his crash at the final corner in last night’s FP2.
After the first 15 minutes, Oliver Bearman led the session in his Haas, followed by the two Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc. A surprise—but with some caveats—came from Jack Doohan, who in his Alpine went fastest with a time of 1:29.666. His power unit settings appeared to be significantly more aggressive compared to Haas and especially Ferrari. All times were set on the soft tyre.
As expected, the two McLarens went to the top after their first flying lap, creating a clear gap to their pursuers. Nearly five tenths separated them from Oliver Bearman in third, who was ahead of Doohan and the two Ferraris. Verstappen responded quickly to the McLarens with a strong lap, going fastest by less than a tenth.
Midway through the session, Ferrari responded, with Charles Leclerc taking a major risk exiting the final corner. The joy was short-lived for the Scuderia, as the two McLarens quickly reclaimed the top spots with their MCL39s.
At the halfway mark, Yuki Tsunoda began his session, initially placing 16th and well off Max Verstappen’s pace. The lap wasn’t performance-focused but crucial to verify the correct assembly of the car. Despite yesterday’s crash, the Japanese driver persevered and closed in on his teammate, though still separated by four tenths.
Both Mercedes cars moved up, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli occupying fifth and sixth respectively. With around 20 minutes to go, Sainz moved up to fifth, ahead of his teammate Albon who sat in seventh.
With 15 minutes remaining, Oscar Piastri crushed the competition, setting a lap of 1:27.5—close to the track record. Norris followed just over a tenth behind, with George Russell as the first non-McLaren, trailing by seven tenths. McLaren’s dominance this weekend appears unreachable. Leclerc, after some setup changes and on used softs, improved his position but still ended up eight tenths behind Oscar Piastri’s benchmark.
Scuderia Ferrari opted to completely change the power unit and push this new engine to give the drivers more horsepower for the weekend. Lando Norris, out for a final run, managed to beat Oscar Piastri’s time by 24 thousandths. Hamilton struggled heavily and sounded dejected over team radio due to the gap from the leaders and Charles Leclerc.
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