JEDDAH: Formula One leader Lando Norris led the expected McLaren one-two in second Saudi Arab­ian Grand Prix practice on Friday while Yuki Tsunoda crashed his Red Bull.

Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri, separated by three points at the top of the championship, resu­med normal service after Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was surprise pace-setter in the first session.

The Briton lapped the super-fast floodlit Corni­che circuit with a best time of one minute 28.267 seconds, 0.163 quicker than Australian Piastri.

Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen lapped third fastest, 0.280 off the pace, before teammate Tsunoda brought red flags out with nine minutes remaining.

The Japanese, drafted in from Racing Bulls in a straight swap with Liam Law­son, clipped the kerb at the final corner and put his car in the wall. He was able to step out and walk away.

When practice resumed, there was only enough time for practice starts.

Gasly led the first session in 1:29.239 seconds, 0.007 quicker than Norris.

Ferrari’s Charles Lecl­erc was third in that opener with Piastri, winner in Bahrain last weekend and hoping to become the first Australian to lead the championship since Mark Webber in 2010, fourth.

That session, run in the late afternoon sunshine on the shores of the Red Sea, was largely unrepresentative of the conditions for Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race, which is held at night.

The session still served as a useful measure of dri­ver confidence on a daunting track that rewards the gradual building up of pace.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2025