Just before the start of the 3rd free practice in Saudi Arabia, Ferrari announces that Carlos Sainz will no longer be in action this weekend. The driver indicated earlier in the weekend that he was not completely fit. Now Sainz has been taken to hospital where he is being operated on for appendicitis. Due to the absence of Sainz, eighteen-year-old Oliver Bearman can make his debut in F1. Your first meters in the current F1 car on the circuit in Jeddah; just stand there.
The nice thing for Bearman is the fact that there is little crowds during the last practice session of this weekend. The sun warms the black patch of asphalt in Saudi Arabia, in contrast to the moments of qualifying and the rest. As a result, the teams can do very little with the data and we therefore see few cars on display. A nice moment for the driver who still has to get to know the car.
Bearman to P1, for a while
Ferrari's youngest debutant ever is told to take it easy and build up his rhythm. After a few laps on the mediums turn on the British driver and promptly set the fastest time. Russell does not reach Bearman's time on soft tires, but the time is long rookie not enjoying his leading position. Lewis Hamilton drops 0.024 seconds under his lap time on soft tires and Leclerc drives three tenths faster on medium tires.
Max Verstappen watches it all from the sidelines. In the first twenty minutes the world champion keeps quiet in his pit box. After this he frolicks around on soft tires and occasionally takes a lap. On the same used softs Verstappen sets the fastest time halfway through the session. Verstappen previously said that he expects qualifying to be close, but that his car is mainly focused on the race.
Logan Sargeant is doing less well. The Williams driver apparently gently touches a wall, but the impact turns out to be big enough to break the steering rod. The battered F1 car barely wants to steer, but Sargeant still manages to reach the pit lane. It takes the Williams mechanics the rest of the training to repair the car.
The first serious crash of this weekend
The damage to Sargeant's Williams is nothing compared to the wreckage left by Zhou Guanyu. With fifteen minutes on the clock, Zhou takes too much speed into Turn 7 and breaks away at the back. The bright green Sauber ends up in the TecPro fence at high speed. We are curious whether the mechanics can build a new car within two and a half hours.
The red flag is waved for the safe removal of Zhou's car, but time continues to tick. With about five minutes to go, the drivers are allowed back on the track. Oliver Bearman can go outside for the first time or get new soft tires. He and the rest who drive another lap do not reach Max Verstappen's time.
Results of the 3rd free practice for the 2024 Saudi Arabia GP
- Verstappen
- Leclerc
- Pérez
- Russell
- Norris
- Alonso
- Stroll
- Piastri
- Hamilton
- Bearman
- Magnussen
- Gasly
- Tsunoda
- Ocon
- Hulkenberg
- Ricciardo
- Albon
- Bottas
- Zhou
- Sargeant
What time does F1 start in Saudi Arabia?
Friday March 8
Qualification: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Saturday March 9
Race: 6:00 PM
![Aston Martin Vantage F1 safety car 2024 diagonally at the front](https://media.1815.io/topgear/i/full/2024/03/aston-martin-vantage-f1-safetycar-2024-studio-3-4-voor.jpg)
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