Max Verstappen twice the fastest in Saudi Arabia. White flag for Nyck de Vries

Given the speed with which he went around with his Red Bull car, it cannot be ruled out that the world champion will also dominate third practice, qualifying and the race.

Verstappen recorded a time of 1.29.603 in the second practice session, making it more than two tenths faster than Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso. Earlier in the day, the Limburger was almost half a second faster than the experienced Spaniard. Sergio Pérez, who started from pole last year, was third. The Mexican conceded three-tenths.

Of course it’s not about the marbles on a Friday, but the fact that the race starts at 6 p.m. just like the second practice and is therefore finished in similar conditions should give Verstappen hope that he can win for the second year in a row on Sunday on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Long runs

Where the difference between Verstappen and the rest over one lap on Friday was relatively large, the gap in the long runs was comparable at times and Pérez was even the fastest in the slot on the medium tyre.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (both with a new engine this weekend) were disappointed with a ninth and tenth place – just like earlier in the day – but the Spaniard in particular drove a pace during the race simulation for a while that allowed him to Verstappen could keep up just fine. However, that is of little use to him if he starts from tenth place on Sunday.

Nick deVries

Nyck de Vries came no further than seventeenth place: 1.30.932. The Dutchman was about one and a half tenths slower than teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who set a thirteenth time. See the full results at the bottom of this post.

Twenty minutes before the end of the session, De Vries was shown another black and white flag. When entering the pit lane, the Dutchman partially crossed the white line with his AlphaTauri car, something that is not allowed.