Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sets pace after fire at Aramco oil depot delayed the start of practice session two

Second practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was delayed by an attack on an oil facility in Jeddah. Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack on the Aramco Depot just 22 kilometres from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit where the race is held, delaying the session by 15 minutes. Ad/> Drivers and team principals met to discuss possible steps in an emergency meeting called by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Saudi Arabian Grand PrixFerrari’s Leclerc quickest in first practice as Red Bull push and Mercedes stutter6 HOURS AGO A statement from the Saudi Motorsport Company read: «We are aware of the attack on the Aramco distribution station in Jeddah earlier this afternoon and remain in contact with the Saudi security authorities. »The race weekend schedule will continue as planned. The safety and security of all our guests continues to be our main priority and we look forward to welcoming fans for a weekend of premium racing and entertainment." Fire at oil factory delays second practice session Leclerc quickest in first practice session When the session did get underway it was again the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc that set the pace.

Leclerc finished with a time of 1m30.074s, once again ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen with Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari completing the top three. The Ferrari was forced to retire when Leclerc clipped a wall and damaged part of the front left suspension. He limped back to the pit lane with a snapped suspension strut that team engineers will toil to replace.

Sainz also limped home to finish the session early. /> Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth fastest and was half a second off the pace of Leclerc. The Mercedes team switched the seat and tweaked the rear wing of Lewis Hamilton’s