F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton targets big improvement in third practice at Saudi Arabian GP
independent.co.ukMax Verstappen will be eyeing another dominant weekend as the F1 paddock rolls into Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.The Red Bull driver led home a comfortable one-two for the world champions at the first race of the season in Bahrain, with Sergio Perez in second.Fernando Alonso came home third for Aston Martin, who were the surprise package, while the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished fifth and seventh respectively.Charles Leclerc - who was involved in a thrilling battle with Verstappen in Saudi last year - had to retire in Bahrain, with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz coming home fourth.
This year’s race is the third grand prix held at the lightning quick street circuit in Jeddah. Verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions yesterday, a day when Hamilton parted ways with his long-term performance coach. Follow qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP with The Independent - FP3 starts at 1:30pm (GMT) before qualifying at 5pm. Formula 1 is once again coming under increased scrutiny for staging races in countries with poor human rights records after the brother of a man executed in Saudi Arabia last year insisted the sport’s silence “enables violence and bloodshed.”A fortnight after staging the opening race of the 2023 season in Bahrain, F1 returns to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – a country where there have been 13 executions in the last two weeks.Last year, 81 men were executed in one day shortly before the grand prix, with 41 from the Shia minority who had taken part in protests calling for greater political participation, according to the United Nations.One of those men was Mustafa al-Kjayyat and his brother, Yasser al-Khayyat, insists that F1 is being used as a “tool to
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