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Leclerc fastest in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix opening practice

Early season championship leader Charles Leclerc maintained his impressive form with Ferrari on Friday when he topped the times ahead of Max Verstappen in opening practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old Monegasque driver clocked a best lap in 1 minute and 30.772 seconds to outpace Red Bull’s world champion by 0.116 seconds, setting that pace on soft tires with only two minutes remaining in the session.

Leclerc, who led teammate Carlos Sainz home in a Ferrari one-two in Bahrain — the team’s first triumph since 2019 — demonstrated speed and control on the high-speed street circuit which saw Mercedes struggling again for performance.

Once again, as in Bahrain, Nico Hulkenberg replaced Aston Martin’s four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who is laid low by COVID-19.

He was 16th while China’s rookie Guanyu Zhou was 14th, one place ahead of George Russell, in the second Mercedes.

The session began in warm conditions with a gusty wind at the high-speed Jeddah Street Circuit, slightly modified since its debut last season to improve some safety concerns.

Alonso was the first man out, but it was not long before Verstappen swept to the top in his Red Bull, the team anxious to bounce back after a double retirement in the season opener.

The Dutchman soon trimmed his time to 1:31.885 and then 1:31.298 before dropping into the 1:30’s while his great rival and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continued to struggle with his Mercedes.

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Arab News
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