Saudi Arabian GP: Norris tops red-flagged FP2 as Tsunoda crashes

Lando Norris topped the second practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, leading McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, while a late crash by Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda halted the session.

With eight minutes remaining, Tsunoda hit the wall at the final corner, causing a red flag that ended the session early, leaving time only for practice starts.

The incident was the sole major disruption in an otherwise uneventful second practice on the 6.1km Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where McLaren – and Norris in particular – demonstrated strong pace.

• Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

The championship leader posted a 1m28.267s on soft tyres, beating Piastri 0.090s.

Third-placed man Max Verstappen briefly led proceedings with a 1m28.547s on softs, but the Red Bull charger’s second effort, 0.280s slower than Norris, failed to challenge McLaren’s dominance.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set an early benchmark of 1m29.002s on mediums and finished fourth, 0.4s off Norris.

Williams’ Carlos Sainz took a solid fifth, followed by Tsunoda, who was 0.4s behind Verstappen before his crash. George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, and Alex Albon rounded out the top 10.

Traffic Issues and Minor Incidents

Traffic on Jeddah’s high-speed, blind corners led to steward investigations for Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who finished 13th, for allegedly impeding others.

Earlier, Andrea Kimi Antonelli clipped the wall at the final corner, prompting a garage visit. Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto missed the session due to an unrepairable fuel leak.

McLaren’s strong performance positions team papaya as favourites, while Tsunoda’s crash underscores the challenges of the Jeddah circuit, where the margin for error is minimal.

Held in relevant evening – and cooler – conditions, the session provided valuable data for teams ahead of qualifying and the race.

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