Charles Leclerc continues strong start to the 2022 Formula 1 season by setting fastest time in Practice Two ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but both Ferrari drivers damage their cars by clipping the barriers in Saudi Arabia; watch qualifying live on Sky Sports from 4pm on Saturday
Saturday 26 March 2022 10:34, UK
Charles Leclerc pipped Max Verstappen to the fastest time in second practice ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, but may have lost crucial time after damaging his Ferrari by clipping the barriers at the Jeddah street circuit.
The session began amid uncertainty as a 15-minute delay was implemented after drivers and team principals were briefed about a fire at a nearby Jeddah oil depot, which Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed was caused by their attack.
However, events on the track began more predictably as Leclerc and world champion Verstappen resumed the contest that dominated last weekend's season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain, while Mercedes remained adrift of their rivals.
Leclerc, who ultimately led home a Ferrari 1-2 from Carlos Sainz in Bahrain after both Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez retired late in the race, edged out Verstappen - as he had done in P1 earlier on Friday - with a 1:30.074, but it may well be the Dutchman who ended the session happier.
Verstappen's best time, which was 0.1s slower than Leclerc's, was set on a harder - and theoretically slower - tyre than his rival, while both Ferraris then lost significant track time as they made contact with barriers moments apart from each other.
With more than 20 minutes of the session remaining, as teams began to focus on simulating longer 'race runs', Leclerc told his team radio the car was "broken" after touching the barrier at Turn 4, while despite appearing to make less severe contact, Sainz also headed to the pits after an incident of his own at Turn 13.
Neither Ferrari returned to the track, which means the team miss out on the valuable data available in the Saudi night-time conditions that are most similar to those they will experience in Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.
Sainz, who along with the Red Bulls set his best time on the medium tyre, was third, ahead of Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez in fourth. The fact that the top four were separated by less than 0.3s suggests another close contest between the two teams could play out over the weekend.
"The way I read that is Ferrari not far behind the Red Bull with Sainz on the same tyres," Sky Sports F1's Johnny Herbert said. "I think Charles Leclerc, though, has that little edge when it comes down to qualifying and Ferrari might just have that edge."
Lewis Hamilton, troubled once more by severe bouncing of the Mercedes on high-speed parts of the track, was fifth ahead of his team-mate George Russell in sixth, with both the Silver Arrows once more appearing incapable of keeping pace with the cars ahead of them.
After a nightmare opening race in Bahrain, there was encouragement for McLaren as Lando Norris was seventh, 0.6s off Leclerc's leading time. However, team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was unable to match that pace, 0.8s off the Brit in 15th.
Haas were unable to build on their fantastic start to the season, with Bahrain hero Kevin Magnussen suffering apparent hydraulics issues in both sessions as his running time was severely limited.
There was also technical trouble for AlphaTauri, who saw Yuki Tsunoda pull up after an apparent engine failure in the dying moments of the session. That followed his team-mate Pierre Gasly's retirement from the Bahrain GP with a potentially similar issue.
Meanwhile, Alpine produced a solid showing after being forced to change Fernando Alonso's engine ahead of Friday's first session due a "suspected sealing issue", with the Spaniard 11th and his team-mate Esteban Ocon eighth. The team did not take a penalty as the part has been placed back into the engine pool for use later in the season.
Sky Sports F1 is your home for every race this season, and it continues with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this weekend.
All the action - from Friday's two practice sessions (2pm and 5pm) through to Saturday's final practice (2pm) and qualifying (5pm) and Sunday's Grand Prix (6pm) - is live on the channel, while as always you can also follow the action online on the Sky Sports App.
Jenson Button, Paul Di Resta, Anthony Davidson, Johnny Herbert, David Croft, Simon Lazenby and Natalie Pinkham will all be in Jeddah bringing their expert insight and analysis.
* indicates simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event.
Saturday, March 26
12.25pm: Formula 2 Sprint Race
1.45pm: Saudi Arabian GP Practice Three (session starts 2pm)
4pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying build-up
5pm: SAUDI ARABIAN GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying hits
Sunday, March 27
2.30pm: Formula 2 Feature Race
4.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Saudi Arabia*
6pm: THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
8pm: Chequered Flag: Saudi Arabia*
9.30pm: Saudi Arabian GP Highlights
