Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) still in front during free practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Already the author of the best time during the two sessions on Friday, Charles Leclerc remains at the top of the time sheet with a time of 1’29”735. The Monegasque is again ahead of Max Verstappen, by only 33 thousandths. Unlike the day before, when he had set his reference time on hard rubber, the world champion this time went on the hunt for the timer for qualifying by putting on soft Pirellis. Sergio Perez, on the other Red Bull, is also less than a hundredth behind the Ferrari. The hierarchy seems very tight since we find seven teams in less than a second in the first eleven places of the session, with in particular the Alfa Romeo of Bottas in fifth position behind the Ferraris and the Red Bulls as well as the eighth time for Kevin Magnussen, deprived of driving on Friday due to repeated problems with his Haas. The French Esteban Ocon (6th) and Pierre Gasly (7th) fit between the two surprise guests at the start of the season. After a little over thirty minutes of driving, Gasly was forced to stop his Alpha Tauri at the exit of the pit lane, victim of a mechanical problem when he had the third performance behind Verstappen and Leclerc. The Norman session ended there. No Mercedes in the Top 10: Hamilton is 11th, 0.972 behind Leclerc while his teammate George Russell is fourteenth. There are also seven single-seaters powered by a Mercedes engine in the last seven positions of this session.