A start delayed by 10 minutes for an essential session, a real rehearsal under equivalent time conditions, of Friday’s qualifying, which was dominated by Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) with a reference time of 1’28”827 ahead of George Russell ( Mercedes) at 0”230 and Max Verstappen at 0”331. Note that fourteen drivers finished in the same second
The start of the 2024 season is definitely full of bugs. Off-track, it has become sadly obvious since the start of the season, with the succession of cases polluting the atmosphere in F1, but this time it is on the track that the established order has been disrupted, continued ten minutes late to start the second free practice session of the day at night. The cause ? An additional check on the pit lane before releasing the cars.
The cool session would immediately give rise to a big heatwave, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) lying fallow on the track at low speed blocking the path to Logan Sargeant (Williams) launched at high speed, forcing the American to jump on the brakes and climb on the vibrator at the risk of damaging its flat bottom, to avoid an accident. Which amounts to an investigation opened by the FIA commissioners.
The rest was calmer with alternations of outings on soft tires to chase the time and others on medium rubber, to work on the racing pace. With Alpine’s lap times bringing them closer to the soft belly, which in the current context is rather good news. At the finish, a 9th time for Pierre Gasly at 0”701 and a 15th time for Esteban Ocon over a second (1”074).
2024-03-07 18:24:12
#Fernando #Alonso #sets #benchmark #time #free #practice #Jeddah
