Max Verstappen will start on pole for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, qualifying fastest ahead of Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez.
The three-time World Champion’s 1:27.472 in his first Q3 run was enough to secure the top spot, bettering Leclerc by over three-tenths of a second.
Perez will start from third, next to Fernando Alonso, who continues to show great pace on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Oliver Bearman is a late addition to the field, becoming the first British driver to compete in a Ferrari since Eddie Irvine in 1999 after Bahrain podium placer Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis.
Bearman was 10th fastest in FP3 and qualified 11th for the race, narrowly missing out on progressing to Q3.
Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu crashed heavily in FP3, forcing him to miss qualifying. He’ll start from the back row alongside Logan Sargeant’s Williams.
The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly lockout the ninth row, continuing to struggle for single lap pace. Valtteri Bottas was the other driver eliminated in Q1, having battled with traffic on his final run.
Nico Hulkenberg brought out an early red flag in Q2 when his Haas VF-24 stopped in the Turn 8 runoff.
Bearman missed the cutoff to Q3 in Sainz’s Ferrari by just 0.036 seconds and will start from 11th. The other drivers knocked out in Q2 were Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, and a stricken Hulkenberg, respectively.
Verstappen’s pole-setting time in Q3 came on his first run, and he wouldn’t beat this on his final flyer.
Leclerc sat fourth, eight-tenths off the pace ahead of his last lap, but improved to leapfrog Perez, who was also unable to improve on his late run, for second, 0.319 seconds behind the fastest Red Bull.
Alonso’s 1:27.846 was good enough for fourth and only 0.039 seconds behind Perez’s best time.
McLaren lockout the third row, with Oscar Piastri outqualifying Lando Norris to earn fifth.
The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton start on Row 4, with the former going seventh quickest.
Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll complete the top ten.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix begins at 6.00 am on Sunday and will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool.
