Pilot Lance Stroll made the 12and best time during the first free practice of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, before continuing with the 14th fastest time in the second session of the day, Friday.
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At the wheel of his Aston Martin car, the Quebecer completed 20 laps during the initial session, including a passage of 1 min 32.582 s. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the fastest in 1:30.772, despite having completed 16 laps. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) followed in 1:30.888 and 1:31.084. Stroll’s teammate replacing Sebastian Vettel (COVID-19) for a second consecutive week, Nico Hülkenberg handed over the 16and time in the standings, i.e. 1:33.034.
“We completed several laps, tried new things and continued to learn more to improve the car,” Stroll told his team’s website. The first session is not very representative [des conditions de course – cette dernière sera tenue la nuit]but there are several interesting data for the next races.”
Later in the day, Stroll clocked 1:31.372, the best of his 27 laps. The Aston Martin driver, who used soft and medium tires, finished more than a second behind Leclerc (1:30.074), the fastest. Verstappen clocked 1:30.214, just better than third driver Carlos Sainz Jr. (1:30.320) of Ferrari.
“Every lap counts at this time of year. We continued to work on the car set-up during the second session and carried out the tire evaluation, added Stroll. We will dissect the information in the evening to better understand where we can make improvements.
The final practice session and qualifying will take place on Saturday, while the race is scheduled for Sunday.