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Qualifying for the GP of Saudi Arabia went to Oliver Bearman as he was allowed to fill in for Carlos Sainz, who had to retire due to appendicitis. For Bearman it meant his first ever qualifying in Formula 1 to determine the grid position of his very first F1 race. Extra challenging considering it was on a street circuit and that he only drove one practice session in the Ferrari F1 car.
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Chinese Guanyu Zhou discovered that things can quickly go wrong on a street circuit because he crashed during the last practice session. His mechanics were still working on his car at the start of qualifying. Ultimately they managed to send Zhou onto the track in the final minutes of the session, but too late to set a lap time.
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Ultimately, it was Max Verstappen who set the fastest time during Q1, ahead of Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc. Oliver Bearman also managed to advance to Q2 with a ninth fastest time.
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In Q2 we received a red flag after just a few minutes because Nico Hulkenberg had to put his Haas F1 car aside. Only four drivers had been able to set a fast lap until then and that was why when Q2 resumed it was a matter of queuing at the exit of the pit lane.
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In the end, Max Verstappen was again the fastest, although only a handful of thousandths ahead of Charles Leclerc who set the second fastest time. Oliver Bearman fell with an eleventh fastest time, only a handful of thousandths away from having eliminated Lewis Hamilton. Everyone was very close together and it seemed like we were going to have a very exciting battle for pole position.
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During the first series of fast runs in Q3, it was Max Verstappen who drove to a provisional pole position with a time of 1:27.472. Sergio Perez drove the second fastest time in the second Red Bull, albeit more than three tenths behind Verstappen. Charles Leclerc struggled with his Ferrari and suddenly had to settle for fourth fastest time, eight-tenths behind Verstappen. Let's wait and see if anyone could threaten Max Verstappen for pole during the second series of fast runs.
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Max Verstappen ultimately did not have to improve his lap to ensure pole position, the Dutchman took pole with a large lead. Charles Leclerc still managed to take a place on the front row next to Verstappen during his second run. Sergio Perez completed the top three.
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:28.171s 1:28.033s 1:27.472s
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.318s 1:28.112s 1:27.791s
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:28.638s 1:28.467s 1:27.807s
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:28.706s 1:28.122s 1:27.846s
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:28.755s 1:28.343s 1:28.089s
6 Lando Norris McLaren 1:28.805s 1:28.479s 1:28.132s
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:28.749s 1:28.448s 1:28.316s
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.994s 1:28.606s 1:28.460s
9 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:28.988s 1:28.564s 1:28.547s
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:28.250s 1:28.578s 1:28.572s
11 Oliver Bearman Ferrari 1:28.984s 1:28.642s
12 Alexander Albon Williams 1:29.107s 1:28.980s
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:29.069s 1:29.020s
14 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:29.065s 1:29.025s
15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:29.055s
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:29.179s
Tags: Max Verstappen