Jeddah practice analysis: what explains the six-tenth gap between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton?. Leclerc outpaces Hamilton by six tenths in FP2 at the Saudi Arabian GP.

During the second free practice session in Jeddah, Charles Leclerc showed excellent feeling with his Ferrari, setting a time of 1:28.749. His teammate Lewis Hamilton was further behind, finishing with a time of 1:29.371. A gap of over six tenths, which on such a fast and technical circuit like the Saudi one, does not go unnoticed. But what really caused this gap? The telemetry analysis of their laps helps us better understand what happened on track.

Is Charles Leclerc saving Ferrari or is Lewis Hamilton struggling badly?
Right from the first meters, it’s clear that the Monegasque driver takes a more aggressive approach, especially under braking. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, brakes slightly earlier at several points on the circuit. This penalizes him in medium-speed corners, where Charles Leclerc is able to carry more speed and set cleaner lines. However, the clearest difference appears on corner exits: the Monegasque gets back on the throttle earlier and more decisively, making the most of the SF-25’s traction and building a progressive advantage.

This impression is confirmed by the delta time graph, which shows how the British driver starts losing tenths already in the middle sector of the lap — not due to visible mistakes, but rather a generally more cautious driving style. It’s a loss that builds up meter by meter, a sign that Charles Leclerc simply has more confidence in the car’s behavior on the Arabian street circuit.

In terms of top speed, the difference is there, though slight. Charles Leclerc manages to reach a few more kilometers per hour on the straights, likely thanks to better corner exits or more effective DRS usage — even though on the main straight, Lewis beats Charles 332 km/h to 326 km/h.

It’s not a matter of Lewis Hamilton making mistakes, but rather of not yet having fully adapted to the track conditions and the Ferrari itself. On a circuit that doesn’t forgive hesitation, Charles Leclerc managed to exploit every centimeter with precision, while Lewis opted for a more controlled approach, perhaps still seeking the right confidence with the car’s balance.

It will be interesting to see how the intra-team battle at Ferrari develops over the rest of the weekend. If the seven-time Formula 1 world champion can close the gap to Charles Leclerc already in FP3 or qualifying, we might witness one of the most intriguing teammate duels of the year.