Carlos Sainz was left unimpressed by Sir Lewis Hamilton’s ‘dangerous’ driving after the pair nearly collided during practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Just days after Oscar Piastri’s dominant win in Bahrain, Formula 1 is at the notorious Jeddah Street Circuit, where McLaren are once again expected to be the fastest.
But it was Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who topped the timesheets in first practice on Friday, finishing 0.007 seconds quicker than Lando Norris, with Sainz and Hamilton further back in seventh and eighth.
The Jeddah circuit is arguably the most dangerous on the F1 calendar thanks to his high-speed corners, narrow track, and lack of visibility thanks to the walls.
As a result, there were a few near-misses during the session, most notably when Sainz’s Williams turned a corner and nearly ran into the back of Hamilton’s Ferrari on a slow lap.
‘F**k. The Ferrari. Woah, it’s so dangerous,’ the panicked Spaniard said on the team radio after narrowly avoiding a hefty crash.
‘He cannot let me by there. Please, someone tell the Ferrari not to let by people there. It’s so dangerous.’
It was unclear at first which Ferrari driver it was, but Sky Sports have reported that it was Hamilton and not Charles Leclerc.
‘No wonder, Carlos Sainz isn’t happy about it,’ Sky pundit Karun Chandhok said.
‘They’re doing 160mph through that section of the circuit and it just caught him off guard where the Ferrari was dawdling around.
‘The Ferrari did try to get out of the way but I think if you are going to get out of the way of people in that section, you need to go off the track.’
Christian Horner responds after Max Verstappen is linked with £226m transfer
Following first practice in Saudi Arabia, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defiantly stated that Max Verstappen would be a Red Bull driver next season.
Despite victory in Japan, reigning champion Verstappen has had a tough start to the season and has been very vocal in his criticism of his Red Bull RB21 car.
The Dutchman has a release clause in his contract which will become active if he is not in the top three in the championship by the summer with Aston Martin and Ferrari tipped to sign him.
The former are reportedly preparing a $300million (£226m) contract offer for the four-time champion, though a team spokesperson has denied this.
Asked about the speculation, Horner told Sky Sports: ‘Noise is exactly the right word to describe it. There’s been a lot of noise outside of the team.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix odds
Lando Norris (McLaren) – 5/4
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 11/8
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 10/1
George Russell (Mercedes) – 11/1
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 14/1
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 20/1
Odds courtesy of Betfair
‘Max reaffirmed his commitment yesterday. We are focused on making the car go faster, that’s where our focus is.
‘Max is a part of that, he’s a committed member of the team. The rest is all speculation.’
‘People will always have their concerns. As a team, we are focused on sorting the car out. Sort the car out and it doesn’t even become a discussion point.’
When asked if Verstappen would be a Red Bull driver at the start of the 2026 season, Horner replied: ‘Yes, absolutely.’
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