2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP2: Norris Leads McLaren One-Two

Under the Jeddah lights and in conditions more representative of qualifying and the race, Lando Norris topped the timesheets in the second practice session of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, currently leading the 2025 Drivers’ Championship, looked in control throughout FP2 and ended the hour 0.163s ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, underlining the papaya team’s status as the squad to beat this weekend.

McLaren wasted no time getting down to business, with both drivers heading the times early on using medium tyres. Norris’ opening benchmark of 1m29.272s was just shy of Pierre Gasly’s FP1 best — set on softs — and as the session developed, it became clear that the MCL39 was thriving in Jeddah’s high-speed sweepers. Piastri briefly got to within 0.001s of his team-mate, but Norris later pulled away when the switch to soft tyres came, punching in a session-topping 1m28.267s.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

  2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP1: Pierre Gasly tops first practice

• 

  2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

The track was lively from the outset, with traffic issues once again causing frustration. Norris voiced his annoyance over the radio after being held up by Max Verstappen, joking: “Why does no one use radios at all?” Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton impeded Alex Albon — a move that earned the Ferrari driver a post-session summons to the stewards. On track, Hamilton’s own performance was muted, ending 13th and a distant 1.1 seconds off Norris.

Max Verstappen managed third, 0.280s off the pace, and looked more competitive than in Bahrain, where Red Bull had struggled. Charles Leclerc led the Ferrari charge in fourth, with Carlos Sainz impressing in fifth for Williams. The Monegasque was half a second adrift of Norris, but comfortably ahead of his underperforming team-mate. Yuki Tsunoda slotted into sixth before his session ended in dramatic fashion — the Red Bull driver clipped the inside wall at the final turn, snapping his suspension and sending him into the barrier. The crash brought out a red flag with just under 10 minutes remaining, and although the session resumed briefly, no significant lap times were set before the chequered flag.

Behind the leading pack, George Russell took seventh for Mercedes, who continued to struggle with tyre warm-up. First practice pacesetter Pierre Gasly backed up Alpine’s encouraging Friday with P8, ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Albon in P10. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed the top ten in 11th, having brushed the wall at the final corner but escaping without damage.

Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson sandwiched Hamilton in 12th and 14th respectively, while Fernando Alonso, Oliver Bearman, and Jack Doohan filled the next three spots. Lance Stroll endured a wild moment with a 360-degree spin at Turn 1 early in the session, ending up 18th ahead of Esteban Ocon.

Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto failed to set a time after a fuel leak on his Kick Sauber prevented him from taking part. While FP2 rarely tells the full story, McLaren’s pace looked ominously strong heading into Saturday. With both the championship battle and development race heating up in the early stages of the 2025 season, the stage is set for an intriguing qualifying session on one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar.

2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP2 Results

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix FP2, 18 April 2025