Sergio Perez took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix during an action-packed qualifying session on the Jeddah Corniche circuit after teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen pulled out of Q2 due to technical issues.
Verstappen was the firm favorite for pole position after leading FP1, FP2, FP3 and early Q1 qualifying, but a driveshaft issue that occurred in Q2 means he will start Sunday’s race. from 15th place on the grid.
MUST-HAVE: Pole favorite Verstappen hit by ‘very annoying’ mechanical issue in Saudi Arabia qualifying
Pérez picked up the pieces in Verstappen’s absence, posting a time of 1m 28.265 in the decisive phase of Q3 to claim a second successive Kingdom pole position, 0.155s ahead of Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc, who will drop 10 places due to to an engine penalty.
Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin therefore jump to the front row as their strong start to the season continues, followed by leading Mercedes of George Russell, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and teammate Lance Stroll.
A much stronger qualifying performance from Alpine saw them in seventh and tenth with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly respectively, with Lewis Hamilton taking eighth in his Mercedes and rookie Oscar Piastri impressing en route to P9 in his McLaren.
Haas and Alfa Romeo were unable to clear the second qualifying hurdle, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing 11th behind Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas, while Verstappen completed the list of drivers who left Q2 amid his costly troubles.
AlphaTauri lost both of their cars in Q1, with Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries taking P16 and P18 respectively; the latter regretted a mistake in the last corner of his final lap after missing FP3 due to a power unit change.
Alex Albon was the leading Williams in 17th, splitting the two AlphaTauris, while Lando Norris was the biggest name to leave Q1 after hitting the wall at Turn 27 and sustaining steering damage that could not be fix.
It was a messy second F1 qualifying session for Logan Sargeant, who lost his first lap for exceeding track limits, spun during his second attempt and eventually encountered a technical problem on his last attempt, leaving him at the back of the grill without time. .
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit looked resplendent under the lights in qualifying
AS A STEP
Q1: Verstappen and Red Bull set the early pace
As the action got underway in Q1, there was some drama early on when De Vries’ car spun under braking at Turn 1 on his first lap, ruining a set of soft tires and adding to the Dutchman’s troubles after his lost practice.
It was a much smoother start for compatriot Verstappen, who immediately signaled his intentions by posting a fast 1m 28.761s during his first race, putting him in P1 by exactly half a second over Perez’s Red Bull brother.
After De Vries’ wild spin, there were similar problems for Norris, who hit the wall in the final corner and reported steering damage, and Alonso, who lit up the rear tires coming out of the first chicane and did a 360 turn. °, forcing him to back off and leave. again.
Moments later, Logan Sargeant had the biggest moment of Q1 when he spun at the high-speed 22/23 turn and stopped dangerously close to the barriers, leaving him scrambling to record a lap time after also losing. his first effort due to the track. boundaries.
It was a tricky finish to Logan Sargeant’s qualifying
As the second phase of racing unfolded amid sporadic yellow flags, Red Bull maintained its one-two position, ahead of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Hulkenberg’s Haas and the two Mercedes drivers, who were split by the Zhou’s Alfa Romeo.
McLaren experienced mixed fortunes in Q1, as rookie Piastri placed 11th and made it through to Q2, moving ahead of Ocon, Magnussen, Gasly and Bottas, but his teammate Norris fell at the first hurdle due to to the incident mentioned above.
As expected from their practice form on Friday, AlphaTauri lost both cars in the opening phase, with Tsunoda sitting in 16th and De Vries dropping out of 18th after a messy finish on his final lap, with Albon’s Williams between. they.
Norris finished 19th in the midst of his Q1 drama, with Sargeant at the back, the only driver without time, after his eliminated lap and spin was followed by a final attempt abandoned when the American reported that “something broke.” “.
Eliminated: Tsunoda, Albon, De Vries, Norris, Sargeant
Norris was a surprising exit from Q1 after running into the wall at Turn 27
Q2: Big drama as Verstappen’s pole position hopes in Jeddah fade
When the green light came back on at the end of the pit lane for the start of Q2, it was Alonso who made the first move and topped the timesheets with a time of 1m 28.757s, marginally quicker than the time recorded in Q1. the pioneer Verstappen.
Then, just as Verstappen was finishing his first race, disaster struck for the reigning world champion who, shortly after surviving a “big moment” in the first sector, reported an engine problem over the radio.
Verstappen limped back to the pits in an attempt to salvage the situation, but with only half a dozen minutes on the clock there was little his mechanics could do, meaning he jumped out of the cockpit and out of Q2, in 15th position. .
Amid a flurry of late racing, Pérez took over the top with a time of 1m 28.635s, moving just over a tenth behind Alonso, followed by the Ferraris, Stroll’s other Aston Martin and the Mercedes pair. Russell and Hamilton, separated by the Alpine de Ocon. .
Piastri and Gasly were the other two drivers to advance to Q3, meaning the two Alfa Romeos (of Zhou and Bottas) and the two Haas machines (of Hulkenberg and Magnussen) joined the frustrated Verstappen as Q2 knockouts.
Eliminated: Hulkenberg, Zhou, Magnussen, Bottas, Verstappen
Qualifying Saudi Arabian GP 2023: Max Verstappen out of qualifying in Q2 after car problem in Jeddah
Q3 – Pérez takes two pole positions out of two in Jeddah
As the shootout for pole position began, without the expected favorite Verstappen, the opening phase of racing was led by Pérez, who posted a time of 1m 28.265s aboard his RB19, half a second ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari, the Mercedes of Russell and Alonso’s Aston Martin.
There was a close call as the various race plans converged, with Sainz meeting Russell at the pit exit and losing some momentum, but the pair managed to avoid contact and all 10 drivers involved in Q3 were able to make it to the checkered flag. .
Leclerc was one of the big improvers in his second race to move past Alonso to P2, albeit with the side note that he will lose 10 places on the grid due to his engine change before the weekend, but no one could challenge Perez. , which means that he was able to drop out. his last turn.
Alonso took third with another solid start in his Aston Martin, but he will be the first beneficiary of Leclerc’s drop from P2 to P12, joining Perez on the front row and setting up an enticing run to Turn 1 on Sunday.
Russell was next in fourth, ahead of Sainz, Stroll, Ocon and his teammate Hamilton, with Piastri and Gasly completing the top 10, all of them earning a place on the grid when Leclerc’s penalty takes place.
Verstappen was a blatant omission of the top three in qualifying
key quote
“That Q3 was difficult, especially not getting that second lap. That [first Q3 run] It was pretty good, it was pretty clean. really clean. Nailing that lap, you really feel the Formula 1 cars come alive in this place and just maximizing that lap was very important because with the problem we had in the final race, it was really important as the track was getting better.
“It is a pity [about Verstappen’s stoppage]. Max has been really strong all weekend and hopefully tomorrow we can get both cars there. With these cars you never know, reliability issues can arise at any time” – Sergio Pérez, Red Bull
Whats Next?
The 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will start at 20:00 local time on Sunday night. Verstappen leads the championship after his season-opening victory in Bahrain, but will he leave Jeddah with that lead intact?
Head over to the RACE HUB to find out how you can watch the action.
