The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz secured P2 and P3 respectively while reigning champion Max Verstappen could only manage P4.
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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.
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.
Speaking of Red Bull, Verstappen’s performance truly was a shocker. The Dutchman could only manage to fourth place and was 0.261 seconds slower than his teammate. Esteban Ocon of Alpine put in a fine lap, managing to claim P5 on the grid. The Frenchman will be joined by Mercdes’ George Russell in P6. Veteran racers Fernando Alonso of Alpine and Valterri Bottas of Alfa Romeo will start P7 and P8 respectively while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen round off the top 10.
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McLaren certainly improved from their Bahrain disaster as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo will start from P11 and P12 respectively while Guanyu Zhou, Mick Schumacher, and Lance Stroll occupy the next three positions.
The biggest shock of the night was undoubtedly Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion could not even get his Mercedes out of Q3 and will start from 16th on the grid. Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Nichola Latifi, and Yuki Tsunoda round off the grid.
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Two red flags were necessary for the qualifying session. The first came out in Q1 when Williams’ Latifi lost control of his car and smashed into the wall. The Canadian seemed fine after the crash but his day was over then and there.
The second was quite a concerning and time-consuming affair. Mick Schumacher had a nasty collision with the barrier in Q2 and the German remained in the cockpit of his Haas until the medical personnel arrived on the scene. The driver was then transported to a medical facility and the session remained postponed for quite a long while.
