Saudi Arabia Grand Prix – Qualifying: Max Verstappen clinches pole position and the record for the fastest lap in Jeddah

The highlight of these qualifications in Jeddah is first and foremost the presence of young Oliver Bearman, who is just 18 years old, in a Ferrari: he is replacing Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who had to undergo surgery due to appendicitis. Quite a baptism of fire for the British reserve driver of the Scuderia.

Q1

Many of us are heading out on the track, but Guanyu Zhou’s car remains in the garage for now, after the Chinese driver harshly hit the barriers in FP3. The mechanics are working tirelessly on his single-seater to get it out during this Q1. Unsurprisingly, everyone is on soft tires.

Nico Hülkenberg sets the fastest time of the session at 1:29.179, before Fernando Alonso arrives at 1:28.876. Charles Leclerc performs a very good final sector and places himself in second position, while Hülkenberg encounters Logan Sargeant on his way, who blocks his path.

Oscar Piastri is excellent in the first sector and manages to set the best time, despite slightly touching the wall, in 1:28.755. On his side, Oliver Bearman sets the fastest time among the drivers who left the pits, before placing 4th, just ahead of his teammate for the weekend, with a very good final sector.

And then the reigning world champion arrives on the track, sets the best first sector and posts the best time at 1:28.491. The Mercedes drivers head back to the pits to put on the soft tires, on a scouting mission. Lewis Hamilton sets the eighth fastest time on his first lap with these tires, while George Russell takes fourth place, showing better pace than his teammate. At the end of the session, Charles Leclerc takes the lead with a time of 1:28.319, before Verstappen edges ahead of him.

With less than two minutes remaining, Guanyu Zhou finally has the opportunity to leave the garage, but he needs to deliver a remarkable performance on his cold tires to reach at least 15th place. On the other hand, Yuki Tsunoda outperforms his teammate Daniel Ricciardo and secures 10th place, while the Australian is 13th. A big surprise at the end of Q1: Lance Stroll sets an excellent lap time, just under a tenth of a second behind Verstappen. Both Alpine drivers are once again eliminated in Q1, with Esteban Ocon apologizing to his team over the radio. It’s actually the same five drivers eliminated as in Bahrain.

Eliminated in Q1: Guanyu Zhou (20th), Logan Sargeant (19th), Pierre Gasly (18th), Esteban Ocon (17th), Valtteri Bottas (16th).

Q2

Lewis Hamilton takes to the track immediately at the start of Q2. All drivers put on new tires, except Oliver Bearman for this first Q2 lap. Nico Hülkenberg tells his team that he is experiencing a loss of power, before coming to a stop at turn 6, briefly interrupting the session.

At the restart, it’s crowded in the pit lane to get back on the track as quickly as possible, which promises a lot of traffic. Oliver Bearman is struggling a bit on this lap, he’s slipping at the back and locking his wheels. Alonso is the fastest in the first and second sectors, while Verstappen is the fastest in the final sector. The Dutchman is in the lead, followed by the Spaniard and then Sergio Perez, but it’s very close. Leclerc squeezes in between Alonso and Perez, also very close.

We are slowly approaching the end of Q2 and McLaren is picking up their pace, with Lando Norris placing fourth, just 4 milliseconds ahead of his teammate. Unfortunately for Oliver Bearman, his time will not be sufficient to advance to Q3, as the rookie lost time on a rumble strip. He falls to just 36 milliseconds behind Lewis Hamilton, who is eleventh in this Q2, quite a good performance considering he only had one session (FP3) to prepare for this car. On his side, the seven-time world champion complains about a lack of grip.

Drivers eliminated in Q2: Nico Hülkenberg (15th), Daniel Ricciardo (14th), Kevin Magnussen (13th), Alex Albon (12th), Oliver Bearman (11th).

Q3

Mercedes and Oscar Piastri hit the track but are lagging behind the best Q2 times, likely hampered by the fact that their tires are no longer new. Hamilton seems to be struggling, while Verstappen is confident and sets a solid time of 1:27.472, three tenths faster than Perez, who is in second place. The Dutchman has just broken the circuit’s absolute record and is on track to secure pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Alonso, satisfied with his lap that currently places him third, decides to give it another go, feeling confident as well. In contrast to Leclerc, who is in fourth place, struggling with his new tires, very difficult to drive. A bad sign for the Grand Prix.

We are nearing the end of this Q3 and everyone is trying to improve their lap time, even if it seems like a lost cause to try to challenge Verstappen and his record. On the other hand, Alonso takes advantage of Hamilton’s Mercedes slipstream to boost his time. Piastri improves his time and moves ahead of Norris, in fourth place. The Mercedes are struggling, with Russell in 7th and Hamilton in 8th place. Despite his difficulties, Charles Leclerc manages to secure second place, while Alonso remains in fourth. Unsurprisingly, Max Verstappen clinches pole position with his record lap.

Qualifying rankings for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix