- Meta shows strong growth as AI spending surges
- Microsoft beats expectations, but AI concerns force shares down
- Argentina hit by massive transport strike
- New Zealand rolls eyes at Joe Marler's haka jibe before England Test
- Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Man City out of League Cup
- Inter keep pace with Napoli as stuttering Juve lose ground again
- Musiala hits hat-trick as Bayern cruise into German Cup last 16
- Man Utd hit five to start life after Ten Hag, Arsenal, Liverpool into League Cup quarters
- New Hezbollah chief says open to truce with Israel if offer is made
- Spain’s warning system under scrutiny as flood toll rises
- Stocks mostly retreat, bitcoin close to record high
- I'll be back-ing Kamala: Schwarzenegger says supporting Harris
- France court jails ex-doctor in latest Rwandan genocide trial
- Champions Inter Milan thump Empoli in Serie A
- Johnson the inspiration for England's Itoje as All Blacks lie in wait
- US, S.Korea call for North to withdraw troops from Russia
- In hurricane-hit N.Carolina, voters find a way to cast ballots
- Yankee fans who interfered with Betts grab barred for game five
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95
- Lebanon hospital's burns unit bears scars of Israel-Hezbollah war
- Migrant dies trying to cross Channel, three more bodies found
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 73
- Smog-beset Pakistan megacity curbs rickshaws, restaurants
- England captain Stokes's house burgled by masked robbers while family inside
- McDavid will miss 2-3 weeks with ankle injury for NHL Oilers
- Brussels hopes to advance Ukraine, Moldova entry talks in 2025
- Georgia president refuses prosecutors' summons after alleging vote-rigging
- First case of latest mpox variant detected in UK: health authority
- I'll be backing Harris: Schwarzenegger endorses Democratic ticket
- Stocks diverge, bitcoin close to record high
- Harris fends off 'garbage' fallout, Trump pushes 'cheating' claims
- 'Peace among ourselves' crucial to save nature: UN chief
- French court acquits man who killed incurably ill wife
- New Hezbollah chief open to truce with Israel if offer is made
- Brazil trial begins over murder of iconic activist Franco
- Russia eats away at territory, and Ukrainian morale
- Trump's election fraud claims raise alarms of 2020 repeat
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 72
- UK's Labour govt hikes taxes in first budget
- Medvedev loses to Australian Popyrin at Paris Masters
- Germany dodges recession but inflation rises sharply
- Harris seeks distance from Biden 'garbage' comments
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 64
- Riyadh Air orders 60 Airbus planes
- US economic growth solid despite slight slowdown as election nears
- Eurozone economy grows more than expected
- UBS smashes forecasts with $1.4 bn net profit
- Chinese EV giant BYD beats Tesla in quarterly revenue for first time
- US economic growth solid but below expectations as election nears
- Jurgen Klopp to target player welfare in Red Bull role
Alonso shines under Saudi lights in second practice
Fernando Alonso topped the times for Aston Martin on Thursday evening ahead of George Russell and Max Verstappen in a busy floodlit second practice at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The two-time world champion clocked a best lap in one minute and 28.827sec to finish two-tenths and three-tenths respectively ahead of the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers.
Defending three-time champion Verstappen was fastest for spells in the session, but had no answer to Alonso's best lap in a wind-affected session.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was eighth for Mercedes ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine and Oscar Piastri of McLaren.
After a 10-minute delay for repairs to loose drain covers in the pitlane, the session made a late start in cooling conditions after a hot day at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
McLaren led the way with Piastri ahead of Lando Norris (12th) as the lights went green.
Verstappen, winner of last week's season-opener in Bahrain, was soon on top, but Red Bull team-mate Perez responded to take the initiative before the much-improved Alonso leapt to the top for Aston Martin in 1:29.846.
After 12 minutes of action, Logan Sargeant had to move swiftly to avoid Hamilton, who was running slowly in the middle of the track, and Sainz. The stewards noted the incident.
Hamilton said he was avoiding Sainz and did not know another driver, on a fast lap, was behind him. The stewards chose to investigate after the session.
At this stage, most cars were running on mediums as Verstappen returned to outpace Alonso in 1:29.543, by 0.017.
It was clear that Red Bull were not enjoying a luxurious advantage and Alonso responded, surging to the top again by seven-tenths in 1:28.127 on soft tyres.
Verstappen and Leclerc improved their times, but only to second and third respectively, three-tenths adrift.
Further examples of drivers lapping slowly and endangering others saw both Russell and then Alonso cursing.
"A mess, it's so dangerous," said the Spaniard before Russell took second spot behind him, two-tenths behind.
With 15 minutes remaining, most chose to switch to race simulation runs with more fuel and hard compound tyres.
Many teams brought upgrades with them. Ferrari taking their 2023 rear wing in a bid to capitalise on their straight-line speed at the second-fastest circuit on the calendar.
Verstappen had shut out the noise surrounding his Red Bull team and boss Christian Horner to clock the fastest lap in opening practice earlier.
The latest twist in the Horner saga came ahead of FP1 when his accuser was suspended on full pay by Red Bull. Horner was cleared last week of any inappropriate behaviour levelled at him by the female colleague after an internal investigation.
M.A.Colin--AMWN