'Checo' Pérez, with solid performance during the free practice of the Saudi Arabian GP

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was launched with the activities of the first free practice at the Jeddah Circuit. The Mexican Sergio Pérez performed a regular performance during the first and second free practice sessions where he scored the seventh and fourth fastest time, respectively. The day was marked by the explosion that occurred near the racetrack.

This calls into question the holding of the event, the second in the calendar of the 2022 Formula 1 season, pending what the authorities of the country and specifically the managers of the competition, as well as their members, have to say. The first reports indicated that it was the impact of a missile on oil installations about ten kilometers from where the single-seaters run.

“Max is not afraid, but Pérez is very scared, although it is not very different from the way we live in Mexico City,” said Helmut Marko, a member of the Austrian team, after the end of the activities. His statements quickly caused controversy among Internet users in the country where Perez originated.

User @markbrito_ wrote: “I would laugh at the curious comparison... but in the Mexican GP we have never been hit by a damn missile 10km from the track...”, while others were ironical about what was said. “Marko is wrong, it's more like Michoacan or Tamaulipas”, launched @eric_m7.

The team leaders of the ten teams will have to discuss whether there are the necessary conditions to continue the activities on Saturday and Sunday: the third free practice, qualifying and the race. Remember that the Russian Grand Prix, part of the calendar for this year, was canceled because it was not an ideal environment to hold a racing weekend.

Already in the purely sports field, the day was red. Both in the morning and in the evening, Charles Leclerc de Ferrari dominated the practice. In the first training session on the Jeddah Circuit, the Monegasque led with the fastest time by stopping the clock at 1:30 ,772 in 16 laps completed.

In second place was the reigning world champion and Perez's teammate, Max Verstappen, with a difference of just over a tenth compared to Leclerc. His time was 1:30 ,888. The third place was held by former Mercedes and now part of Alfa Romeo, Valtteri Bottas with his 1:21 .084.

Carlos Sainz finished fourth, followed by Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Sergio Pérez, Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. All of them completed the first ten places. The most relevant part of the practice was the explosion that leaves the safety of those who make up the Great Circus in question.

In the second session of the day, Leclerc scored the best stopwatch again with 1:30 .074. Focused only on what happened on the track, the highlight is that from first place to fifth there was hardly a difference of less than half a second between cars.

Verstappen arrived 0.140 seconds later than the leading Ferrari. Carlos Sainz did 1-3 for the Italian team with his 1:30 .320. Fourth place went to Checo with 1:30 .360 and fifth for Hamilton with 1:30 .513. The top 10 was completed by George Russell, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda.

If the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix continues normally, on Saturday at 08:00 hours the third and final free practice will take place. That same day at 11:00am the classification will be defined. Finally, the race will be on Sunday at 11:00 hours. All times in relation to the time of central Mexico.

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