Early Pace Setters in Q1: The opening segment of qualifying saw Piastri immediately setting a strong benchmark. His initial lap of 1:28.019 put the McLaren ahead, a mere seven-thousandths of a second quicker than his teammate Norris. Verstappen, in his Red Bull, slotted into third, 0.129 seconds adrift of the leading McLaren. Mercedes’ George Russell and the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the early top five. Norris then pushed harder on his second attempt, clocking a 1:27.805 to establish a two-tenth advantage over Piastri. While Piastri improved on his final run, his gain of a tenth wasn’t enough to reclaim the top spot. With Norris opting to remain in the McLaren garage for the final flurry of laps, Verstappen seized the opportunity, unleashing a lap of 1:27.778 to secure the provisional fastest time ahead of the two McLarens. Mercedes’ rising star, Kimi Antonelli, impressed to take fourth in Q1, followed by Tsunoda, Williams’ Alex Albon, and Russell.
Q1 Eliminations: The first casualty list of the session included Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who narrowly missed the cut in P16, trailing Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar by just seven-hundredths of a second. Also failing to progress beyond Q1 were Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, and the second Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto.
Intense Q2 Battle for Top Spots: The second qualifying segment witnessed another early surge from Piastri, who set the initial pace with a lap of 1:27.690. However, Verstappen swiftly responded, eclipsing the Australian’s time with a 1:27.529. The McLaren duo continued to show strong pace, with Norris finding further speed to go quickest once again, edging out Verstappen by five-hundredths of a second. For the final runs in Q2, Norris remained in the pit lane, confident in his time. Despite running on used soft tires for his final attempt, Verstappen couldn’t quite match the McLaren’s pace but secured his place in the top ten shootout in second position, armed with two fresh sets of soft tires for the final segment.
Q2 Eliminations: Missing out on a spot in Q3 were Albon in P11, followed by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the second Racing Bulls car driven by Hadjar, and Haas’ Ollie Bearman.
Dramatic Conclusion with Norris Crash: The final and decisive Q3 session began with Piastri laying down a marker, setting a provisional pole time of 1:27.560. However, the session was immediately thrown into disarray as Norris, pushing hard through Turn 4, took too much kerb and slid into the barriers on the exit of the corner. The McLaren driver thankfully emerged unharmed, but the red flags were immediately deployed, halting the session. While Norris’s incident disrupted the flying laps of several drivers, Verstappen was fortunate to have been on an out lap at the time of the crash. As the session resumed, the Red Bull driver wasted no time in getting back on track, utilizing scrubbed tires and a two-run fuel load strategy, aiming to complete two timed laps. His first attempt proved crucial, as he narrowly snatched provisional pole from Piastri by the incredibly small margin of just 0.001 seconds.
Verstappen’s Decisive Final Lap: In the final flurry of laps, Russell put in a strong effort, setting a time of 1:27.407. Piastri responded, finding a significant 0.256-second improvement over his first run to move back into the top spot. However, Verstappen, now with a lighter fuel load and feeling his RB21 “coming alive,” as he later described it, unleashed a blistering lap to secure his second pole position of the season and the 42nd of his Formula 1 career.
Final Qualifying Classification:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Honda RBPT)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull/Honda RBPT)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Renault)
- Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes)
- Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Mercedes)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Mercedes)
- Jack Doohan (Alpine/Renault)
- Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber/Ferrari)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber/Ferrari)
Summary: Max Verstappen demonstrated his exceptional talent by securing pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a thrilling qualifying session. Oscar Piastri will start alongside him on the front row, with George Russell in third. The session was also notable for Lando Norris’s unfortunate crash in Q3, which leaves him starting down in tenth position.
Disclaimer: This report summarizes the qualifying session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix based on available data and official results.
