FP1: Gasly sets the pace from Norris and Leclerc during first practice in Saudi Arabia

Pierre Gasly has topped the timesheets during the first practice hour of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, the Alpine driver causing a surprise by going fastest from McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The drivers and teams were greeted by hot and humid conditions as the session got underway at 1630 local time, with Haas’ Esteban Ocon leading the pack out amid a busy start at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the majority sporting the medium tyre for their initial laps.

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There were some close encounters with the walls during the early stages for the likes of Gasly and Lewis Hamilton, while Oscar Piastri – the race winner last time out in Bahrain – faced an issue of a different kind after reporting that his drink was leaking in his helmet.

Ollie Bearman, meanwhile, experienced a lock-up in the Haas – on his return to the track where he famously made his F1 debut for Ferrari last year – before Piastri asked the McLaren team to check his car, having explained that he “touched a wall a little bit”.

George Russell had gone fastest after the first runs with a lap of 1m 29.674s, putting him 0.306s ahead of Norris, while Max Verstappen followed in third. Carlos Sainz went on to displace Norris in second following a switch to the soft tyres, the Spaniard seemingly getting more comfortable with the Williams as he continues to adjust to his new car.

Attentions then started to turn to the soft-shod runs for many others, with Norris promptly setting a new benchmark via his effort of 1m 29.246s – three-tenths ahead of Russell and four-tenths clear of team mate Piastri.

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Gasly subsequently caused a stir by shooting to the top of the timesheets by a mere seven-thousandths from Norris, the Frenchman arriving into the weekend after scoring Alpine’s first points of the season with a P7 result in Bahrain.

There was a moment for Sainz when the Williams driver encountered a slow-moving Ferrari on the track, the four-time race winner voicing his concerns about the incident over the radio. The Racing Bulls, meanwhile, left their soft tyre runs until late in the session, with Isack Hadjar unhappy after having to abandon his initial effort amid traffic on the circuit.

It was ultimately Gasly who remained unbeaten in P1 thanks to his lap of 1m 29.239s, with Norris and Piastri putting their McLarens in second and fourth while Leclerc split the papaya cars in third. Alex Albon was the lead Williams in fifth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who reported something feeling “weird under braking” in his W16.

Sainz claimed P7, ahead of Hamilton in P8 and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda in P9 and P10. Liam Lawson was 11th – the Racing Bulls driver set to be investigated after the session for an alleged failure to follow the Race Director’s instructions, namely allegedly entering the painted area between the pitlane and the track. Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was 12th while the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Hadjar were 13th to 15th respectively

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Jack Doohan took P16 for Alpine, while Lance Stroll was P17 for Aston Martin and the Haas duo of Bearman and Ocon were P18 and P19. Gabriel Bortoleto, meanwhile, brought up the rear in P20 for Kick Sauber.

The drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to examine their data and prepare for Friday’s second Free Practice session, which is due to get underway at 2000 local time.