Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two in the second practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, lapping within a second of last year’s pole position time.
Max Verstappen put Red Bull second-fastest among the teams, having briefly set the fastest time before it was beaten by the two McLaren drivers.
His team mate Yuki Tsunoda was four tenths of a second behind him in sixth place. However his session ended early after he crashed.
Tsunoda clipped the barrier on the inside of the final corner, which sent his RB21 into the wall on the outside. The car was heavily damaged in the crash, which was severe enough for the Medical Car to be deployed, but Tsunoda told his team he was unhurt as he climbed out.
The session was therefore red-flagged for most of the final seven minutes before being restarted with a minute to go. All the remaining drivers bar Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar emerged in order to be able to perform practice starts.
Charles Leclerc was fourth-fastest for Ferrari, but did several laps on his set of soft tyres before finally setting a time. His team mate Lewis Hamilton was only 13th, 1.1 seconds off the pace, and also incurred the wrath of the stewards.
Hamilton badly held up Alexander Albon early in the session, prompting an angry reaction from the Williams driver. The stewards announced they will investigate it.
Carlos Sainz Jnr set the fifth-fastest time ahead of Tsunoda, followed by George Russell in the first of the Mercedes. Pierre Gasly, who was fastest in first practice, fell to eighth in this session, complaining about his braking performance at one stage.
Nico Hulkenberg took ninth in the only Sauber to appear during the session. His team mate Gabriel Bortoleto was unable to take part as Sauber discovered a fuel leak on his car following first practice and had to dismantle it to investigate the cause. Alexander Albon completed the top 10.
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Grand Prix second practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’28.267 | 21 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’28.430 | 0.163 | 22 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.547 | 0.280 | 23 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.749 | 0.482 | 22 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.942 | 0.675 | 24 |
| 6 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.963 | 0.696 | 19 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’28.973 | 0.706 | 21 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’29.106 | 0.839 | 22 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’29.193 | 0.926 | 21 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’29.220 | 0.953 | 23 |
| 11 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’29.242 | 0.975 | 16 |
| 12 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’29.306 | 1.039 | 17 |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’29.371 | 1.104 | 23 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’29.488 | 1.221 | 22 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’29.662 | 1.395 | 18 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’29.754 | 1.487 | 19 |
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’29.912 | 1.645 | 21 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’30.007 | 1.740 | 18 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’30.019 | 1.752 | 22 |
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Hamilton cleared over impeding in practice as Albon agrees it was not “dangerous”
- Norris leads McLaren one-two, Verstappen third as Tsunoda crashes
- Lawson was ‘sad and puzzled’ after Red Bull dropped him – Bayer
- As it happened: 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix second practice
- Verstappen not leaving says Horner amid rumoured $300m bid by Aston Martin
