Oscar Piastri has sent an early message to the Formula One grid, closing in on a historic milestone in a McLaren one-two in the first practice session in Saudi Arabia.
The Australian driver finished second in Friday’s second practice session, just 0.163s behind teammate Lando Norris, as McLaren topped the timesheets at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Norris, rebounding from a frustrating weekend in Bahrain, was in fine form with a best time of 1:28.267.
The McLaren duo were comfortably ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who placed third and nearly three tenths behind Norris.
Piastri, riding high after his win in Bahrain, is now just three points behind Norris in the championship standings.
If the 24-year-old can continue his current form, he could become the first Australian to lead the F1 championship in 15 years.
Piastri finished second behind teammate Lando Norris in the first practice session in Saudi Arabia
Piastri has a chance to move into the championship lead with a win at the Saudi Arabia GP
The last Aussie to top the standings was Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, in 2010 during his time at Red Bull.
“Jeddah is a track I really enjoy and have good memories of from past visits,” Piastri said. “I’m determined to hit the ground running in Saudi.”
The Melbourne-born driver already has wins in Shanghai and Bahrain this season and appears more comfortable than ever in the McLaren.
Friday’s session highlighted the growing threat McLaren poses to Red Bull in 2025, particularly on fast circuits like Jeddah.
While Verstappen sits just eight points back in third, Red Bull continues to struggle with consistency, as seen in Bahrain.
Piastri briefly topped the timesheet mid-session before Norris responded with his best lap under the lights.
The Australian clipped the wall during his lap but avoided serious damage, unlike several others.
Friday’s running was not without drama, with Yuki Tsunoda crashing heavily in the final 10 minutes.
The last Aussie to top the F1 championship was Piastri’s manager and former driver Mark Webber
It wasn’t a perfect practice session for Piastri who will get another chance on the course in today’s second practice
The Japanese driver, in his third race weekend for Red Bull, clipped the inside wall at the final corner and lost control.
“I just turned in too much and clipped the wall with the inside wheel,” Tsunoda explained. “It had damage, and after that just no control. Apologies to the team.”
Despite the crash, Tsunoda still posted the sixth-fastest time of the session, behind Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The incident brought out a red flag, cutting short valuable track time for many teams under floodlit conditions.
The session also saw brief drama as Lance Stroll locked up and stopped at Turn 1, triggering a yellow flag.
Meanwhile, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto did not take part in second practice due to a fuel leak discovered before the session.
Ferrari’s Leclerc finished fourth, half a second off the pace, while teammate Lewis Hamilton had a difficult outing in 13th.
Hamilton is under investigation for allegedly impeding Williams’ Alex Albon during a high-speed section of the circuit.
However, stewards later ruled that no further action would be taken.
Final practice takes place Saturday afternoon, with qualifying scheduled for 6pm local time.