F1 Grand Prix qualifying results: Perez takes Saudi GP pole

Perez will start ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

The shock result of the day was seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton failing to get out of Q1 for Mercedes and he will start 16^th, while Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen could only manage fourth.

Saudi Grand Prix qualifying results: Perez on pole from Leclerc

Cla	Driver		Time	Gap	km/h
1	Sergio Perez		1'28.200		252.000
2	Charles Leclerc		1'28.225	0.025	251.928
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.		1'28.402	0.202	251.424
4	Max Verstappen		1'28.461	0.261	251.256
5	Esteban Ocon		1'29.068	0.868	249.544
6	George Russell		1'29.104	0.904	249.443
7	Fernando Alonso		1'29.147	0.947	249.323
8	Valtteri Bottas		1'29.183	0.983	249.222
9	Pierre Gasly		1'29.254	1.054	249.024
10	Kevin Magnussen		1'29.588	1.388	248.095
11	Lando Norris		1'29.651	1.451	247.921
12	Zhou Guanyu		1'29.819	1.619	247.457
13	Lance Stroll		1'31.009	2.809	244.222
14	Daniel Ricciardo		1'29.773	1.573	247.584
15	Lewis Hamilton		1'30.343	2.143	246.022
16	Alex Albon		1'30.492	2.292	245.617
17	Nico Hulkenberg		1'30.543	2.343	245.478
18	Nicholas Latifi		1'31.817	3.617	242.072
19	Yuki Tsunoda
20	Mick Schumacher		1'29.920	1.720	247.179
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What happened in Saudi Grand Prix Q1?

Q1 was halted after just eight minutes when Nicholas Latifi crashed heavily at Turn 13 when he lost control of the rear of his Williams.

Verstappen headed the times soon after the resumption, producing a lap of 1m29.389s, but that was quickly topped by Leclerc 1m29.039s and then Sainz on 1m28.855s. Verstappen then split the Ferraris with a 1m28.928s on a second push lap.

Focus quickly turned to Hamilton’s struggle to get through to Q2 as he languished in P17, 1.68s off the pace as the chequered flag flew. He briefly went P15 with his last-ditch effort of 1m30.343s, but Lance Stroll – with new tyres on his Aston Martin – knocked him out by 0.087s.

Falling at the first hurdle along with Hamilton were Alex Albon (Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (again subbing for Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin), Latifi (Williams) and Yuki Tsunoda, who didn’t complete a lap when his AlphaTauri suffered a fuel related issue on his out lap.

Saudi Grand Prix Q1 results: Sainz fastest from Verstappen

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	6	1'28.855			250.142
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	7	1'28.928	0.073	0.073	249.937
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	6	1'29.039	0.184	0.111	249.625
4	George Russell	Mercedes	9	1'29.680	0.825	0.641	247.841
5	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	7	1'29.683	0.828	0.003	247.832
6	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	7	1'29.705	0.850	0.022	247.772
7	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	9	1'29.831	0.976	0.126	247.424
8	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	7	1'29.891	1.036	0.060	247.259
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	9	1'29.957	1.102	0.066	247.078
10	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	11	1'29.978	1.123	0.021	247.020
11	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	7	1'29.978	1.123	0.000	247.020
12	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	9	1'30.009	1.154	0.031	246.935
13	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	7	1'30.093	1.238	0.084	246.705
14	Mick Schumacher	Haas	8	1'30.167	1.312	0.074	246.502
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	9	1'30.256	1.401	0.089	246.259
16	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	11	1'30.343	1.488	0.087	246.022
17	Alex Albon	Williams	9	1'30.492	1.637	0.149	245.617
18	Nico Hulkenberg	Aston Martin	10	1'30.543	1.688	0.051	245.478
19	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	4	1'31.817	2.962	1.274	242.072
20	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	2
View full results

What happened in Saudi Grand Prix Q2?

Leclerc set the early bar at 1m28.883s, 0.041s faster than Perez, who in turn was 0.021s quicker than Verstappen.

With five minutes to go, Mick Schumacher spun his Haas after bouncing off the kerb at the exit of the 150mph Turn 10, smashing into the wall on the left at Turn 11 and sliding down the track past Turn 12, causing the second red flag of the day.

Medics took their time with the extraction process before he was taken to the medical centre, while the car recovery process was hampered when the rear end snapped off the chassis and covered the track with oil. Schumacher was then flown to hospital for checks but escaped serious injury.

After a delay of almost an hour, the session resumed with Sainz going P1 with 1m28.686s, 0.094s faster than Leclerc.

Knocked out at this point were the McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), Schumacher and Stroll.

UPDATE: After qualifying, Ricciardo was handed a three-place grid penalty from impeding Ocon.

Saudi Grand Prix Grand Prix Q2 results: Sainz fastest from Leclerc

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	15	1'28.686			250.619
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	14	1'28.780	0.094	0.094	250.353
3	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	13	1'28.924	0.238	0.144	249.948
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	14	1'28.945	0.259	0.021	249.889
5	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	14	1'29.295	0.609	0.350	248.909
6	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	15	1'29.404	0.718	0.109	248.606
7	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	15	1'29.418	0.732	0.014	248.567
8	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	18	1'29.546	0.860	0.128	248.212
9	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	14	1'29.584	0.898	0.038	248.106
10	George Russell	Mercedes	16	1'29.618	0.932	0.034	248.012
11	Lando Norris	McLaren	16	1'29.651	0.965	0.033	247.921
12	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	17	1'29.773	1.087	0.122	247.584
13	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	17	1'29.819	1.133	0.046	247.457
14	Mick Schumacher	Haas	13	1'29.920	1.234	0.101	247.179
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	15	1'31.009	2.323	1.089	244.222
View full results

What happened in Saudi Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Sainz set the bar at 1m28.402s, 0.044s faster than Leclerc. Perez was third, ahead of the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, and a tardy lap from Verstappen, who complained of “zero grip from this tyre”.

As the final runs began, George Russell (Mercedes) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) jumped up to fifth and sixth respectively.

Leclerc then briefly grabbed P1 with 1m28.225s, but Perez wrested pole away with 1m28.200s ahead of the Ferraris.

Verstappen could only manage fourth, 0.261s off the pace, ahead of Ocon, Russell, Alonso, Bottas, Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas).

Saudi Grand Prix Q3 results: Perez takes pole

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	km/h
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	20	1'28.200			252.000
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	22	1'28.225	0.025	0.025	251.928
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	23	1'28.402	0.202	0.177	251.424
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	22	1'28.461	0.261	0.059	251.256
5	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	19	1'29.068	0.868	0.607	249.544
6	George Russell	Mercedes	21	1'29.104	0.904	0.036	249.443
7	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	20	1'29.147	0.947	0.043	249.323
8	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	22	1'29.183	0.983	0.036	249.222
9	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	22	1'29.254	1.054	0.071	249.024
10	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	24	1'29.588	1.388	0.334	248.095
View full results