At the start of the session, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who set the pace on Medium tyres. The Dutchman posted a lap of 1:29.89 on his first flying lap but he was soon usurped McLaren’s Lando Norris who jumped to the top with a 1:29.27s lap on the same compound. 

Charles Leclerc also beat Verstappen's time, slotting into second with a 1:29.477s that included a purple final sector. Moments later the yellow flags came out Turns 1-2 to cover Lance Stroll, who spun into the run-off area as he suffered rear locking. 

There was also a nervy moment for Williams’ Alex Albon too. The Thai driver had to take evasive action when he came across a slow Lewis Hamilton at Turn 18. The Ferrari driver was set to be investigated after the session. Piastri then posted a lap 1:29.273s but Leclerc then went quicker to take top spot on 1:29.002s. 

Racing Bulls’ Lawson was the first to move to Softs and the New Zealander posted a time 0.5s off Leclerc. George Russell then moved up to P1 on Softs, but the Mercedes driver was not happy with the balance of his car and Williams Carlos Sainz jumped to P1 on 1:28.942s. Verstappen was the next to go for a qualifying simulation and the Red Bull Racing driver posted a time of 1:28.547 to open a solid half-second gap to the Spaniard. 

Verstappen’s stay wasn’t long, however, as Piastri went a tenth clear at the top with a lap of 1:28.430. Norris was one of the last out for his Soft tyre run and with a purple first sector the championship leader jumped above his team-mate with a lap of 1:28.340. 

However, Piastri wasn’t done and after cool down laps and a trip through the pit lane he went for another attempt on the same tyres. However, he abandoned the lap after he clipped the wall and failed to improve on his personal best. 

Norris repeated that tactic but unlike his team-mate the Briton was able to find an improvement and he shaved seven hundredths of a second off his best lap to seal P1 0.163s clear of Piastri. 

With the focus then turning to high fuel runs, mostly conducted on Medium tyres, Verstappen held onto third place, a little under three tenths of a second off Norris. Leclerc also went out for a later Soft run and the Ferrari driver moved up to fourth place with a time of 1:28.749 that left him two tenths clear of Sainz. Yuki Tsunoda was sixth in the second Red Bull, four tenths off his team-mate Verstappen, while Russell’s uncomfortable Soft tyre run left him seventh ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Williams’ Alex Albon. 

However, with nine minutes remaining the red flags came out when Tsunoda touched the wall on the inside of the final corner and was pitched into the opposite wall at the exit of the corner. With broken left suspension and significant damage to the right of his RB21, the session was halted. 

The session did resume, but with just a minute left on the clock there was just time for the bulk of the field to make it out of the pit lane to perform a practice start from the grid. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.267 21 251.808
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:28.430 0.163 22 251.344
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.547 0.280 23 251.012
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.749 0.482 22 250.441
5 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:28.942 0.675 24 249.897
6 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.963 0.696 19 249.838
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.973 0.706 21 249.810
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:29.106 0.839 22 249.437
9 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:29.193 0.926 21 249.194
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:29.220 0.953 23 249.119
11 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.242 0.975 16 249.057
12 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:29.306 1.039 17 248.879
13 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:29.371 1.104 23 248.698
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:29.488 1.221 22 248.372
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:29.662 1.395 18 247.890
16 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:29.754 1.487 19 247.636
17 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:29.912 1.645 21 247.201
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:30.007 1.740 18 246.940
19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:30.019 1.752 22 246.907