333 kph on Jeddah F1 Friday by Peter Windsor

Under the cloud of a missile attack on a nearby Aramco distribution station, the F1 world went ahead with free practice today for the Saudi Arabian GP. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc topped the list with a quick soft-tyre lap in the evening session but neither Ferrari completed fuel runs today, leaving the stage open for another Red Bull show of strength.

Running a smaller rear wing than team-mate Max Verstappen, Red Bull's Sergio Perez regularly broke the speed trap at an eye-watering 333 kph - some 16kph quicker than he had been at this circuit at the end of 2021.

Mercedes are still suffering with porpoising but there are signs that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are closing the gap when the cars are carrying fuel; and the midfield looks as tight as ever. In this video, Peter Windsor looks at the results of the long runs on both fuel and light fuel loads - and at the comparative top speeds. Jeddah is a low-downforce track with lots of straights and flat-out corners, placing a premium on aero efficiency, engine power and high-speed braking.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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