Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc outpaced world champion Max Verstappen with a late flying lap in Saturday’s final Saudi Arabian Grand Prix practice after drivers agreed to carry on despite an attack on a nearby oil facility.

None of the drivers appeared to be the worse for wear despite lengthy debates overnight about racing in the aftermath of Friday’s missile strike by Yemen’s Huthi rebels om the Aramco fuel plant, which ignited a blaze with black smoke billowing across the Formula One track.

Leclerc, winner of last weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, clocked a best lap of one minute and 29.735 seconds to beat the Dutchman by 0.033 seconds.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was third, just 0.098 behind, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas, who was sixth for Alfa Romeo.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

 

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