Max Verstappen was fastest in the first two sectors of his final flying lap but crashed in the final corner after an unfortunate lock up.
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position on Saturday in what was an exciting qualifying session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Teammate Valterri Bottas got second place which means it will be a front row lockout for Mercedes, something that would give a lot of confidence for them. Current championship leader and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen looked set to claim the pole position as his final flying lap seemed to be the quickest of the day but the Dutchman locked up in the final corner and his car went crashing into the wall. He will start the race at P3 but if there is any gearbox damage and he has to get a new one, Verstappen will be slapped with a five-place grid penalty.
Hamilton did not have a good time with the Mercedes in the practice sessions but he used all of his skill and experience to absolutely fly through the track in his final lap of the day and set a time of 1:27.511. Bottas also did a commendable job as he set a time of 1:27.622. Mercedes will be pretty happy with the front row lockout but they will know that Verstappen could have stolen the pole.
The Dutchman’s final flying lap was a treat to see. He was the fastest of the day through the fast two sectors and was looking all set to beat Hamilton to pole but it was not to be. On the final corner of the track, Verstappen locked up but he tried to keep the car on the track at the same pace in order to finish the lap. It proved to be a costly error as the Red Bull smashed against the wall and might have sustained significant gearbox damage. His fastest lap was 1:27.653.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was involved in a nasty crash in FP2 as he seemed to struggle on the track. However, the Monegasque delivered a masterful performance and bagged P4 on the grid with a time of 1:28.054. His teammate Carlos Sainz had a disappointing day and will start the race outside the top 10.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who also seemed to be having trouble on the track, will start at P5 as he failed to get into top 4. He will be disappointed but it is an improvement over the Qatar GP’s qualifying session where he had to settle for P11.
The AlphaTauri duo of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda delivered good performances on the day as they will start the race from P6 and P8 respectively. They are separated by McLaren’s Lando Norris in P7.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi will start P9 and P10 respectively. It was a brilliant drive by the Italian who is out of contract at the end of the year and will miss out at least on the next season of Formula One.
2023 Formula E Hyderabad ePrix: Preview, Dates, Tickets, Live Streaming, all you need to know
