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15.20 The updated ranking:
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing1:30.888 1
2 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri + 0.822 1
3 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+0.830 1
4 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+1.801 1
5 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes+2.104 1
6 Daniel RICCIARDO McLaren+2,445 1
7 Country NORRIS McLaren + 2,636 1
8 Esteban OCON Alpine+2.796 1
9 Lance STROLL Aston Martin+2.951 1
10 Alexander ALBON Williams+3.216 1
11 Nicholas LATIFI Williams+3.246 1
12 Fernando ALONSO Alpine+3.276 3
13 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo + 3.781 2
14 Nico HULKENBERG Aston Martin+3.866 1
15 Guanyu ZHOU Alfa Romeo+5.302 2
16 Mick SCHUMACHER Haas F1 Team+6.221 2
15.19 41 minutes at the end of FP1.
15.18 Even the tires were not mounted on Sainz’s Ferrari. We hope that in the Maranello team they know what they are doing and are not guilty of presumption.
15.17 RED FLAG! An advertising sign has lost parts, which have ended up on the asphalt. Now the track will need to be cleaned, but it won’t be a long stop.
15.16 Verstappen continues to improve. 1’30 ″ 888. He is going really strong on hard tires.
15.15 Hamilton is 5th at 1 ″ 694.
15.13 We remind you that qualifying and the race will take place at night, perhaps this is also why Ferrari is not in such a hurry to get out on the track. It is now daylight and temperatures are much higher than they will be when it really matters.
15.12 Verstappen improves, 1’31 ″ 298. 2nd Tsunoda at 1 ″ 090. Gasly 3rd at 1 ″ 203. So far Red Bull and AlphaTauri are doing well.
15.11 Still no time even for Haas and Alfa Romeo, or Ferrari-powered cars.
15.10 Hamilton climbs to second position at 1 ″ 107. Remember that the British are using soft tires, the Dutch are using hard tires.
15.10 It is probable that Ferrari is waiting for the track to clear itself of sand with the succession of passages.
15.09 The partial classification:
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing1:31.885 1
2 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+1.136 1
3 Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri + 1.474 1
4 Daniel RICCIARDO McLaren+2,178 1
5 Pierre GASLY AlphaTauri+2.483 1
6 Country NORRIS McLaren + 2,758 1
7 Nicholas LATIFI Williams+3.373 1
8 Esteban OCON Alpine+3.387 1
9 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes+3.826 1
10 Lance STROLL Aston Martin+4.464 1
11 Alexander ALBON Williams+4.644 1
12 Nico HULKENBERG Aston Martin+4.900 1
15.08 Wanted choice for Ferrari or is there some problem? Unusual the choice to stall in this way in the pits.
15.06 The Ferraris are still in the pits. Hamilton is now paying 1 ″ 5 from Verstappen, despite having two compounds in advantage.
15.05 Verstappen immediately leads on the first available lap: 1’34 ″ 167, 2nd Ocon at 1 ″ 105.
15.04 1’36 ″ 531 for Tsunoda, in command with hard tires. At 7 tenths Perez.
15.03 Leclerc is still out of the car, he is now wearing his helmet. Some tweaks to the car by the mechanics.
15.03 Here are also the Mercedes with soft tires.
15.02 The Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez on the track with hard tires. Still stuck in the pits Ferrari and Mercedes.
15.01 The track is really dirty and covered with sand.
15.00 The first to take to the track are the Alonso and Ocon Alpines.
15.00 The third driver Antonio Giovinazzi is also in the Ferrari garage.
15.00 GREEN LIGHT! Free Practice 1 of the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP has begun!
14.57 In Bahrain, Red Bull proved to be very competitive at the end of the straights, as Carlos Sainz also admitted. We will see how Ferrari will respond in terms of set-up: this is a track that requires less load than Sakhir.
14.55 Five minutes to the start of FP1.
14.53 The first free practice session, as well as the second and third, will last 60 minutes.
14.50 Ferrari has not brought about any developments compared to the Bahrain GP.
14.45 Jeddah is an engine track, the engine counts a lot on the two long straights. We will see what will be the response of the challenge between Ferrari and Red Bull. Will the Mercedes stay distant or will it get closer?
14.42 Sebastian Vettel has not yet recovered from Covid. He therefore he will still touch Nico Hulkenberg with Alfa Romeo.
14.40 The constructors classification:
1. Ferrari 44
2. Mercedes 27
3. Haas 10
4. Alfa Romeo 9
5. Alpine 8
6. AlphaTauri 4
7. Red Bull 0
7. McLaren 0
7. Aston Martin 0
7. Williams 0
14.35 The classification of the drivers’ championship after the first race:
1.Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 26
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 18
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 15
4. George Russell (Mercedes) 12
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 10
6. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 8
7. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 6
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 4
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) 2
10. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) 1
11. Mick Schumacher (Haas) 0
12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 0
13. Alexander Albon (Williams) 0
14. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 0
15. Lando Norris (McLaren) 0
16. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) 0
17. Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin) 0
18. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) 0
19. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 0
20. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) 0
14.30 However, one fact must be underlined. The “exact” Hamilton-Verstappen-Bottas podium is not the most replicated in the history of Formula 1. This primacy belongs to the order Hamilton-Rosberg-Vettelwhich occurred well 8 times between 2014 and 2016. Obviously, here too we must take into consideration the high number of races and the crystallization of the values that have characterized Formula One over the last decade.
14.25 For the record, of the 20 occasions in which Lewis, Max and Valtteri all finished in the top three, 7 times the combination came out Hamilton-Verstappen-Bottas. In 6 cases we have had Hamilton-Bottas-Verstappen. In 3 GP the order was Verstappen-Hamilton-Bottas. Per 2 times the sequence was Bottas-Hamilton-Verstappen. Finally, there are two podiums uniquethat is Bottas-Verstappen-Hamilton e Verstappen-Bottas-Hamilton. Be that as it may, all six possible combinations have occurred at least once!
14.20 Yet what happened in Jeddah in 2021 is still significant. That race represented the 20th time in which Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas took the podium all together. No other trio of pilots shared the top-three as many times as them! Of course, there are factors that have favored this “Trinity”. First of all the high number of Grand Prix disputed in the modern era and, secondly, the crystallization of values in the last two years. Nonetheless, a curious fact remains. The 2021 Saudi Arabian GP is likely to remain the last one in which the three appeared on the podium at the same time, as the Finn left the Mercedes.
14.15 Retracing the statistical history of the Saudi Arabian GP is very fast and, in truth, not very meaningful. Hat-trick by Lewis Hamilton, who then in 2021 conquered pole position, victory and fastest lap in the race. Mercedes absolute mistress, especially since Valtteri Bottas accompanied the foreman on the podium, reaching 3rd place. The only “intruder” in the triumph of the Stuttgart company is represented by Max Verstappenrunner up.
14.10 The second edition of the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia it will only take place 112 days after the first! This is because the placement of the race in the World Cup calendar has been changed, moving it from the end to the beginning of the season. At least the single-seaters will be completely different from those that competed on the same track last December, as in the meantime the regulatory revolution wanted by Liberty Media has entered into force.
14.05 Hello friends of OA Sport and welcome to the Live Direct of the first free practice session of the Saudi Arabian GP 2022 in Jeddah.
How to follow the free practice of the Saudi Arabian GP – The presentation of the GP of Saudi Arabia
Hello and welcome back to LIVE LIVE from the free practice sessions of the Saudi Arabian GP, second round of the 2022 F1 World Championship. On the Jeddah track, teams and drivers will work hard in search of the best possible set-up on their car.
Ferrari wants to confirm itself. The Red, fresh from the magical double of the debut in Sakhir (Bahrain), is willing to repeat the same performance. Clearly, the goal is far from easy on a track with particular characteristics: a very fast street circuit, with many curves in succession in which it will be important to have a very efficient car from an aerodynamic point of view.
On paper, Red Bull may have a few more chances. The RB18, as far as it was possible to notice in Bahrain, in terms of efficiency it would seem to be the best car of the lot, while the Ferrari stands out for its mechanical grip. We will see if and how much the set-up and the adaptation work to the layout will change these aspects. To be verified whether and to what extent the reliability problems that Milton Keynes’ cars had in the first round will affect their performance in this event.
A reaction from Mercedes is also expected. Even on the podium with Lewis Hamilton, the W13 showed a series of problems that Brackley must solve as quickly as possible. Toto Wolff talked about the excess of drag, which somehow can encompass the whole.
OA Sport offers you the LIVE LIVE from the free practice sessions of the Saudi Arabian GP, second round of the 2022 F1 World Championship: news in real time and constant updates. FP1 starts at 15.00 in Italy, while the second session is scheduled for 18.00. Have fun!
Photo: LaPresse
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