Ollie Bearman
Ollie Bearman

2024 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Final Practice - As it happened

Re-live all the action from final practice at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

It's qualifying day at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with the tight for pole looking to be tightly-contested between five teams.

Max Verstappen is the man to beat on race day judging from the race simulations in FP2.

Away from the track, Carlos Sainz has been ruled out of the weekend with appendicitis, handing British driver Oliver Bearman his F1 debut with the Scuderia.

08 Mar 2024
14:40
That's a wrap for FP3

We will be back later today for qualifying which kicks off at 5pm UK time.

Keep across Crash.net for the latest news and reaction to final practice.

14:39
Full FP3 results

How final practice finished up in Saudi Arabia...

Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-24. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-24. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2,…
14:31
Top 10

Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Russell, Norris, Alonso, Stroll, Piastri, Hamilton and Bearman.

14:30
Chequered flag

Bearman goes eighth in the Ferrari after a mistake in the final sector. 

14:29
Leclerc into second

He's just under 0.2s off Verstappen's top time from earlier now.

14:29
Two minutes to go

Russell slots into second, 0.5s off Verstappen's top time.

14:25
FP3 back underway

Magnussen leads the pack out of the pit lane for the final runs in final practice.

14:24
The session will restart

We will be back underway in one minute. 

There will be five minutes on the clock for some final soft tyre runs.

14:21
Into the final 10 minutes

Still under red flag conditions.

Current top 10: Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Magnussen, Perez, Russell, Albon, Norris, Hulkenberg and Piastri.

14:15
Zhou radio

"Sorry mate, lost the car. Yep sorry. Don't know what happened. Otherwise I am ok." 

14:13
Red flag

Zhou has crashed out.

14:10
Some damage for Verstappen?

He reports: "I hit something in Turn 10. I don't know if it was a plastic bottle or something that I hit with my front right tyre."

He's back in the pit lane.

14:06
Big improvement from Verstappen

He's improved his time to a 1m28.412s now, 0.8s clear of Leclerc.

14:05
Current top 10

Verstappen, Leclerc, Magnussen, Perez, Norris, Russell, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Albon and Alonso.

14:03
Haas looking impressive

Magnussen moves into third in the Haas now, 0.592s off Verstappen's time.

14:01
Verstappen goes clear

Verstappen improves to a 1m28.893s to move 0.313s of Leclerc's time.

13:59
Bearman on track for Ferrari
Oliver Bearman (GBR) Ferrari SF-24 Reserve Driver. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Jeddah,
Oliver Bearman (GBR) Ferrari SF-24 Reserve Driver. Formula 1 World…
13:56
Impressive lap by Leclerc

A 1m29.206s puts him 0.3s clear of Perez. Worth nothing that the Ferrari driver was on the mediums, not the softs like Perez.

13:53
Current top 10

Perez, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Bearman, Albon, Gasly, Zhou, Tsunoda and Bottas.

13:51
The times continue to tumble

Perez's first soft tyre effort puts him top of the pile with a 1m29.562s, 0.3s ahead of Russell.

13:49
Russell lowers the benchmark

The times continue to tumble in Saudi Arabia as Russell sets a 1m29.862s on the softs.

Leclerc slots into second on the mediums with a 1m30.008s.

13:46
Hamilton goes clear now

A 1m30.253s from Hamilton on the softs puts him less than a tenth ahead of Bearman. 

13:44
Bearman takes to the top

All focus on the Ferrari driver as he goes clear at the top of the timesheets.

A 1m30.277s for him, 0.493s ahead of Bottas in the Sauber. 

13:38
Bearman improves

A solid lap from the Ferrari driver to improve to a 1m31.273s, 0.480s off Hamilton's top time.

13:36
Bearman's first lap

It's a 1m33.114s for Bearman, 1.8s off Bottas' current benchmark.