By Joe Murphy
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took P1 in second practice on Thursday from Saudi Arabia.
After being edged out by the Red Bull in Max Verstappen, the Spaniard was again in form, this time to edge out the Dutchman after the World Champion complained from an array of issues that appeared to creep in as the day progressed. The Mercedes team put some issues of the morning behind them as George Russell was second as Toto Wolff’s team seemed to have the edge on Ferrari and McLaren around this particular track, despite earning a fine what has been described as a potentially ‘dangerous incident’.
Alonso was nearly quarter of a second clear (0.230 seconds) of the British driver and a third of a second quicker than the man who dominated the first Grand Prix of the season last weekend in Bahrain.
Lewis Hamilton was only eighth as he struggled in comparison to his teammate. Charles Leclerc was in fourth whilst Lance Stroll also showed signs of some pace.
A positive headline for Alpine on the back of their mass firings this last week Pierre Gasly managed to make it into the top half of the standings, alongside the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Haas struggled and RB struggled relatively more than expected, seemingly slower than Williams in Jeddah. Onto qualifying on Friday.
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