In qualifying, during Q2, the Aussie got in the way of Alpine's Esteban Ocon, who was on a flying lap, forcing him to abort his lap.
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Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren was docked three positions for obstructing Esteban Ocon during qualifying for the 2022 Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Australian qualified his McLaren 12th fastest, missing out on a top ten finish. However, during Q2, he got in the way of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who was on a flying lap, forcing him to abort his lap. The stewards investigated the incident after qualifying and determined that “Car 3 impeded Car 31,” which means Ricciardo impeded Ocon, according to “Document 40” published on the FIA website after qualifying.
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Ricciardo claimed that he did not see Ocon approaching and that his team failed to notify him of the Frenchman’s approach, according to the document, with McLaren’s representative admitting that they made a mistake in not warning their driver about Ocon.
As a result, Ricciardo was demoted three places on the grid and McLaren was fined 10,000 euros, despite Ocon being unaffected and qualifying fifth. Ricciardo, on the other hand, will start 14th instead of 15th because Mick Schumacher will not be competing on Sunday due to his horrific qualifying crash on Saturday.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez drove an incredible lap to earn pole position on Saturday ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP. Checo became the first-ever Mexican driver to achieve the feat on what was an eventful day in Jeddah. The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz secured P2 and P3 respectively while reigning champion Max Verstappen could only manage P4. However, the spotlighting should be focused on Perez who clinched the first pole position of his F1 career with a time of 1:28.200.
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Leclerc’s final flying lap seemed absolutely rapid and the Monegasque looked all but set for pole, but Perez was just 0.025 seconds faster. It could have been Sainz in second place as he was putting in quick laps throughout qualifying but his final one was to up to the mark. The Spaniard will have to settle for third on the grid, 0.202 seconds slower than the Red Bull of Perez.
