Hello and welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for Free Practice 2 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as teams and drivers gear up for the final race of the first Formula 1 triple-header of the season in Saudi Arabia.
Pierre Gasly pulled off a surprise in Free Practice 1 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, topping the timesheets ahead of championship leader Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The opening session of the weekend was held in scorching conditions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with temperatures hovering near 30°C and high humidity adding to the challenge.
Max Verstappen endured another frustrating outing in the RB21. The reigning champion struggled with understeer and a lack of grip, particularly through high-speed corners. Verstappen could only manage ninth place, behind Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell – the latter describing his Mercedes as feeling “weird under braking.”
Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP live updates for Free Practice 2 will offer fans unparalleled insight into team strategies, reliability concerns, and potential frontrunners. So stay tuned with us as FP2 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP unfolds live from Jeddah.
F1 Saudi Arabian GP 2025 Free Practice 2 LIVE: Latest Updates
CHEQUERED FLAG: McLaren secure Saudi 1-2 as Tsunoda crashes
Lando Norris topped the timesheets in FP2 at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, edging out teammate Oscar Piastri as McLaren flexed their muscles under the lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The session ended early following a crash by Yuki Tsunoda, who hit the wall at the final corner with just under 10 minutes remaining.
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Find out what happened in FP2 below:
GREEN FLAG: Drivers come out for practice starts
The drivers come out for some practice starts with just over a minute on the clock, but Lando Norris sees it as a chance to get some racing in too.
The McLaren driver lunges Max Verstappen into the last corner, but the Dutchman fends him off and gets to the finish line first.
A small mental victory for the world champion and Red Bull.
What happened to Tsunoda?
Tsunoda came down the long back straight and turned into the final corner, but seemed to crank on too much steering lock.
The extra rotation from doing so pivoted his car too much to the inside world, which he tagged and broke his front-left suspension thus catapulting him to the outside wall at the exit of the corner.
It’s a silly mistake, but not one that should impact his confidence all too much.
RED FLAG: Eight minutes to go: Tsunoda crashes out
Yuki Tsunoda hits the wall at the final corner and is out of FP2 with broken front suspension on that Red Bull car.
“Ah sorry guys,” says Tsunoda over the radio, that’s his afternoon done with time running out. He’s in sixth place as things stand.
15 minutes to go: Norris extends advantage
Lando Norris extends his lead at the top of the times and sends a warning to the rest of the grid by banging in a 1:28.267 on the soft tyres.
His gap is now 0.163 to Oscar Piastri and 0.280 to Max Verstappen.
18 minutes to go: Piastri and Antonelli tag the wall
Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri both give the barriers at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit a tap, but both manage to survive and continue on their ways.
Antonelli’s Mercedes is 11th, whilst McLaren’s Piastri is currently second.
22 minutes to go: Teams back in their garages
Teams head back into their garages to take one last look at the data, charge their batteries and fuels and head back out to the circuit again.
Lando Norris continues to lead the times.
27 minutes to go: Norris now tops the times
Lando Norris now proves to be the pace setter in the Middle East by beating Piastri’s 1:28.430 by 0.090 in Jeddah.
McLaren are looking pretty good once again, but that’s to be expected from the opening rounds of the season.
32 minutes to go: Piastri displaces the world champion
Oscar Piastri now posts a 1:29.430 to lead Max Verstappen by 0.117 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
McLaren have the pace over Red Bull once again, but it’s looking solid for the Dutchman overall compared to the Mercedes and Ferrari cars.
35 minutes to go: Verstappen to the top
Max Verstappen now leads the timing boards with those soft tyres strapped to his Red Bull, leading Carlos Sainz’s Williams by 0.395 and George Russell by 0.426.
It’s a solid lap from the Red Bulls, but the McLarens are now coming out on track. What can Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris do?
37 minutes to go: Soft tyre runs starting
We’re going to see some quick times now as the front runners begin to put the soft tyres on at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for some qualifying simulations.
Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls was the first to give them a go.
40 minutes to go: Leclerc now tops the times in Jeddah
Charles Leclerc now leads the way in the Ferrari, and didn’t improve in his final sector indicating there could be more to come from the Monegasque star.
His 1:29.002 heads Oscar Piastri by 0.138 and Lando Norris by 0.270 in the Top Three.
Then comes: Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon.
Replays show a strange spin from Stroll
All looks fine for Lance Stroll as he comes down to Turn 1 but then he brakes and his rears lock, sending him spinning off before he finds reverse and continues on his way.
He’s now back in the pits as Aston Martin investigate the issue. The Canadian is currently 17th and just shy of 2.1 seconds off the pace as things stand.
50 minutes to go: Norris sets the early speed
Lando Norris edges out Oscar Piastri by just 0.001 at the top of the timing boards with a 1:29.272 in Jeddah.
The McLaren pair lead Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell, Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar in the Top 10.
52 minutes to go: Hamilton flagged for impeding
Lewis Hamilton is going slow at Turn 10 and Alex Albon finds himself having to aggressively back out of his lap to avoid a major crash in Jeddah.
The incident has been noted by race control. It will be investigated after the session ends.
Alpine turned the power up in FP1
Pierre Gasly was rapid in FP1 but it’s since been confirmed that Alpine ran their power unit at a higher engine mode.
What will they be able to do in FP2 now they’re on a more level playing field? So far Jack Doohan is sixth, suggesting decent pace in the car.
55 minutes to go: Mistake from Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton has to cut the first corner on his first push-lap of the afternoon as he still finds out how to get to grips with this Ferrari car.
He’s currently two seconds off the pace, and potentially working on his long runs already.
57 minutes to go: Antonelli with the first lock-up of the afternoon
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli locks up into Turn 1 and just about keeps his Mercedes on the track. He’s still figuring out just how much he can push in Jeddah.
The 18-year-old is 15th overall.
GREEN FLAG: FP2 begins in Saudi Arabia
We have cars on track for this FP2 session under the night lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
It’s Haas’ Oliver Bearman with the first time on the board as he sets a 1:31.055.
Full chassis change underway at Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto will likely not be involved with Free Practice 2 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP.
His Sauber car is hooked up on support structures and is down to the very bare basics as his engineers work to change what could be a fuel leak.
That’s going to cost him a lot of pace over the weekend. The Brazilian will miss race simulations and qualifying simulations, meaning he has it all to do on Saturday in broad daylight.
What are Williams cooking in Saudi Arabia?
Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz showed fine pace in FP1 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Will they keep the good times going in FP2 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit?
It’s time for Red Bull to step it up
Red Bull dominated this race in 2024.
Fast forward 12 months? They’re 9th and 10th with talks their star driver might even quit the team.
It’s imperative Red Bull take a step forwards in FP2 to prove to Max Verstappen they are making progress with their tricky RB21 car.
A narrow miss for Pierre Gasly
Here is how close Alpine’s Pierre Gasly came to crashing out of FP1 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP…
Instead, he went on to be quickest overall.
That’s how fine the margin of error is at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Will anyone be caught out in Free Practice 2?
Welcome to the blog for FP2
Will Lando Norris seize the initiative in Free Practice 2 at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP by topping the times at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit?
The McLaren driver was second in FP1, narrowly behind Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. With conditions representative for Sunday’s race, he will look to give himself a big boost by leading the rest of the grid at the chequered flag.
Stay tuned with Total-Motorsport.com to find out if he can do it.
Where to Watch 2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP2?
For viewers in the United States, 2025 Saudi Arabian GP Free Practice 2 will be shown on ESPNU and ESPN2, with streaming coverage via ESPN+.
In the UK, all sessions, including 2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP2 are available on Sky Sports F1. And fans in Australia can catch all the action on Fox Sports 506, Kayo Sports, and Foxtel.
What time is FP2 at the Saudi Arabian GP?
Free Practice 2 for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP begins at 4:30pm local time on Friday in Jeddah. That means an early start for F1 fans in the UK, where FP2 begins at 2:30pm on Friday afternoon.
Over in the USA, the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP2 session from Jeddah begins at 9:30am ET on Friday morning, which means an early morning 6:30am PT start for those on the West Coast.
