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Max Verstappen topped final practice as British teenager Oliver Bearman made his Ferrari debut ahead of qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Bearman, 18, has replaced Carlos Sainz for the remainder of the weekend in Jeddah as the Spaniard has been diagnosed with appendicitis and will require surgery.
Verstappen and Lance Stroll are the only drivers in F1 history who made their full F1 debut at a younger age and Bearman is Ferrari’s youngest-ever driver.
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Zhou Guanyu has a massive crash during P3 of the Saudi Arabian GP in his Sauber
Bearman was one of the first drivers on track and racked up as many miles as possible on the medium tyres, at one point going fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and ended up in 10th place, less than one second behind pace-setter Verstappen.
The reigning world champion, who won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, set a 1:28.412 but didn’t improve on his final run in the last five minutes following Zhou Guanyu’s big crash at Turns Seven and Eight.
Nearly all drivers had one flying lap at the end after the session was stopped for 10 minutes, as Charles Leclerc went 0.196s slower than Verstappen and Sergio Perez got within half a second.
Sky Sports F1’s live Saudi Arabian GP schedule
Friday March 8
- 3.05pm: F2 Sprint Race
- 4.10pm: Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying build-up
- 5pm: SAUDI ARABIAN GP QUALIFYING
Saturday March 9
- 12pm: F1 Academy Race 2
- 1.20pm: F2 Feature Race
- 3.30pm: Saudi Arabian GP build-up: Grand Prix Saturday
- 5pm: THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
- 7pm: Saudi Arabian GP reaction: Chequered flag
- 9.30pm: Saudi Arabian GP highlights
Watch the second round of the new F1 season – the Saudi Arabian GP – live on Sky Sports F1 this coming week, with qualifying on Friday and the race at 5pm on Saturday. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership for just £21 a month for 12 months
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with Francis Ngannou takes place on Friday March 8, live on Sky Sports Box Office with the main event expected around 11pm. Book Joshua v Ngannou now!
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