Data analysis: McLaren boast strong Jeddah form but Red Bull threat lingers

04/19/2025 03:00 AM

McLaren ended Friday's second practice session from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on top of the timesheets as it looks to continue its strong start to the new season. The Woking-based squad has taken three out of the four grand prix wins on offer so far this year with Red Bull denying a clean sweep through Max Verstappen's eye-catching performance in Japan. Red Bull struggled last time out in Bahrain as balance concerns and overheating elements ruled it out of contention for glory. Verstappen was left languishing in sixth at the chequered flag, matching his lowest classification from the entire 2024 season. The track surface in Jeddah is much smoother compared to Bahrain, and therefore tyre degradation should not be of great concern. Red Bull undoubtedly look in better shape compared to one week ago, but as has been the case in the opening phase of the campaign, McLaren enter the remainder of the weekend as favourites. Long runs during the second practice session were cut short due to Yuki Tsunoda's crash at the final corner, so the data on high-fuel lap times is limited. Taking the sample from FP1, however, McLaren appear to be in a good position. Championship leader Lando Norris in particular seemed to take care of his medium tyres better than team-mate Oscar Piastri, whose pace tapered off as the run progressed. Check out the limited long run data from the first free practice below! Qualifying simulations One area where McLaren lacked throughout the day was in a straight line, as Norris and Piastri clocked 17th and 19th respectively through the speed traps. There may be a variety of reasons for this, including turning down engine power before increasing the output for the competitive sessions. However, even its DRS gain was the lowest in the field as it picked up 24 km/h through the DRS zone, compared to 27 km/h for rivals Red Bull. Despite the many straights around the Jeddah track, McLaren's low top speed, it did little to dent its prospects as Norris and Piastri logged the fastest two lap times of the second free practice session. Norris' biggest advantage over Piastri and indeed the rest of the pack came in the middle sector, where he was able to eke out an advantage through the complex that runs from Turn 15 to 22. It's important to note that Norris did not run the McLaren upgrades on Friday, with only Piastri doing so in order to provide a back-to-back analysis before a decision over their use is made for the remainder of the weekend. With overtaking opportunities aplenty around Jeddah, qualifying position will not be as critical compared to other locations, but the front-running challengers will still want to get themselves into a healthy position come the start of Sunday's race. Taking a look at the one lap efforts, from the front three, it is clear to see Piastri has a tendency to brake deeper into a corner compared to his rivals, giving him an early corner advantage. However, in turn, he is later to get back on the throttle compared to the others. Verstappen consistently brakes earlier than the front-running trio but it allows him to push the throttle pedal sooner. The Dutchman had the highest full throttle percentage throughout the lap at 78.7%, compared to 76.4% for Norris and 75.9% for Piastri. See the qualifying simulation data below! What about Ferrari and Mercedes? As has been the case throughout the opening rounds of the season, Ferrari does not look to be in contention for pole position or the race win this weekend. Charles Leclerc ended the second practice session in fourth, albeit almost half a second down on the session-topping time. Lewis Hamilton had an even greater gap of one second to Norris, leaving him down in 13th position. A downcast Hamilton stated his goal for the weekend is simply to get into the top 10. The seven-time champion lost time at every stage of the lap, but most significantly in the first and third sectors. In a similar fashion, Mercedes was also pretty anonymous with George Russell conceding it is unlikely the team can do much overnight to improve the car for qualifying. The Briton ended the session in seventh place while rookie team-mate Antonelli was 11th. Russell has managed to spring a surprise in qualifying on a couple of occasions this year, but Jeddah looks to be a tall order. The battle at the head of the field looks firmly between McLaren and Red Bull. The latter will be hoping Tsunoda can recover his confidence from his crash and post similar times to his FP2 effort, which left him just three positions off Verstappen. If not, it looks as though we are in for another fight out front between the McLaren drivers with Verstappen lurking, looking to pounce on any opportunity.