Friday practice in Jeddah has come to a close. During FP1 and FP2 of the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, McLaren reaffirmed itself as the frontrunner, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ending the second free practice session at the top of the timesheets.
In the first session, the Australian didn’t shine as much as he did later in the day, but still finished in the top four. In FP2, he was beaten by his teammate by just 0.163 seconds, taking second place. On race pace, the gap to other teams still appears quite significant. On a single lap, however—especially at a track like the Saudi Arabian GP circuit—the gap seems smaller.
All in all, it was a solid pair of sessions for Oscar Piastri, who ends the day confident for qualifying, particularly since he arrives in Jeddah after securing pole position in Bahrain. The car remains fast, and that gives the Australian a good feeling heading into Saturday.
Oscar Piastri’s comments
Today was a challenging day for all drivers. The two free practice sessions weren’t perfect for Oscar Piastri, who has already reviewed his mistakes and knows where he needs to improve.
The McLaren driver, #81, said: “Yeah, it was a decent day. The pace was good and I felt quite comfortable. There are a few corners where I need to do a better job tomorrow, but overall it felt like a good day.”
“The pace was strong. There are still a few things I didn’t execute perfectly, but the feeling is good,” the Australian added.
Last weekend in Bahrain, Oscar Piastri took pole on Saturday and won on Sunday, so he comes into this weekend with a lot of confidence. Despite the mistakes in FP1 and FP2, he remains focused and optimistic for tomorrow’s qualifying session.
The 24-year-old stated: “Well, I think the car is fast. I’ve had some good feelings. As I said, there are still some areas to improve for tomorrow, and some room to grow in terms of pace. But so far everything has gone fairly well, so I feel confident for tomorrow.”
“A solid Friday. It was a bit more complicated than usual, but I think the car’s pace is strong. The competition doesn’t seem far off, so we need to fine-tune a couple of things to be in the best position for qualifying. We’ll review everything tonight and prepare as best we can for tomorrow,” Oscar Piastri concluded after the second free practice session in Jeddah.
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