HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from FP2 in Jeddah as Verstappen edges out Alonso under the lights

Red Bull and Aston Martin continued their impressive starts to the 2023 season during practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen recovering from a stomach bug to lead Fernando Alonso in Friday’s second session.

Verstappen’s best time under the floodlights at the super-fast Jeddah Corniche Circuit – a 1m 29.603s – put him 0.208s clear of Fernando Alonso, with team mate Sergio Perez a tenth further back in third.

FP2: Dominant Verstappen leads Alonso at second practice session in Jeddah as track ramps up

Alonso set his quickest lap after getting caught out by traffic and experiencing a moment at the reprofiled Turn 22/23 chicane, with Charles Leclerc also frustrated by a slow-moving car as he encountered Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas cruising on the racing line early in the session.

Alpine put both cars in the practice mix with Esteban Ocon in P4 and Pierre Gasly in P6, sandwiching the lead Mercedes of George Russell, who nonetheless commented that “big changes” were required to his car.

There were no red flags or stoppages during the second one-hour session, as drivers gathered valuable data in representative night-time conditions ahead of qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

Hit go in the video player above to check out the highlights from FP2 in Saudi Arabia.