Norris leads McLaren practice one-two as Tsunoda crashes

JEDDAH :Formula One leader Lando Norris led Oscar Piastri in the expected McLaren one-two in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix practice on Friday while Yuki Tsunoda crashed his Red Bull.

Norris and his teammate, separated by three points at the top of the championship, resumed normal service in the second session after Alpine's Pierre Gasly was surprise pace-setter in the first.

The Briton lapped the super-fast floodlit Corniche circuit with a best time of one minute 28.267 seconds, 0.163 quicker than Australian Piastri.

"I think at the minute we feel confident but the others are not far behind," said Norris.

"I was probably hoping for a bigger gap than what we had today. We know we're fast, we know we have a great car but certainly not as comfortable as what we would like."

Red Bull's four-times world champion Max Verstappen lapped third fastest, 0.280 off the pace, before teammate Tsunoda brought red flags out with nine minutes remaining.

The Japanese, drafted in from Racing Bulls in a straight swap with Liam Lawson, clipped the kerb at the final corner and put his car in the wall. He was able to step out and walk away.

"I just turned in too much and clipped the wall and inside wheel. I had damage after that and just had no control," said Tsunoda.

"It is frustrating because the pace was looking good, so it’s a shame but also a positive, as I was getting the car in a good window."

PRACTICE STARTS

When practice resumed, there was only enough time for practice starts.

"Compared to Bahrain, the grip levels and set up of the car is completely different so it is very difficult to compare to last week, but it is still clear that we want to be faster," said Verstappen.

The Dutch driver, winner in Japan, was only sixth fastest in Bahrain last