PL1 Jeddah: Charles Leclerc opens the weekend in Saudi Arabia with the fastest time but Verstappen with the Hard tires is not far away

Jeddah, the first back-to-back of the season, will close the inaugural double of the year by offering a clearer picture of the powers on the field. Indeed, Bahrain has raised the curtain and fueled expectations for this season which promises to be exciting.

However, there is a lot of tension in Jeddah, in fact, just now, the Aramco oil plants 10 km away from the circuit were hit by a strong explosion, from which a fire broke out. The FIA ​​has not yet given any indications on the progress of the next events and how much these could be distorted by the terrorist attack that hit the plant. We look forward to updates. The fire brought smoke to the track so much that even Verstappen was worried and, hearing the smell of burning, he thought it was his car. However, the team immediately reassured him about the state of health of his car.

The first Free Practice session in Jeddah served the teams to "acclimatise" to the circuit, which has recently been modified in some points but still lacks grip. Ferrari returns to Jeddah as first in class and sets the pace with Leclerc, who sets a time of 1:30.772 with the Softs. Only 1 tenth away from him Max Verstappen who sets the time with the harder compound. Valtteri Bottas closes this first "virtual podium" with the Alpha Romeo. Hamilton's Mercedes are behind, with Russell just 15th. But it is still early to evaluate.

Pilots in Jeddah have taken measurements. They'll have to find the perfect lap, brushing against particularly close walls in this full-speed race. So it's not surprising to see some riders correcting themselves often or going slightly wide in this session. Jeddah, which made its debut last year, must be the revenge race especially for Red Bull, deeply hurt by the double out in Bahrain. Charles Leclerc therefore takes the fastest time with a Ferrari that wants to confirm its strength also in Jeddah.

Compared to Bahrain we will see several new features on the drivers' single-seaters. Perez fitted a new MGU-H and turbocharger after retiring in Bahrain. Alpine instead intervened on the power unit, changing Alonso's ICE after highlighting a suspected problem. Alonso, will also have a new turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K and exhaust system. Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris also filled in for the first change.

During the session, several riders showed bouncing problems, while Kevin Magnussen had to suspend his session immediately and return to the pits due to a leak. A complicated start for the Haas "Viking" who was unable to test this new track last year.

Here are all the times from the first Free Practice session: