Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez 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.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc
What happened in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q1?
Verstappen set the early pace with a lap of 1m28.491s before Leclerc topped it with 1m28.318s.
But Verstappen wouldn’t be denied, and recorded 1m28.171s to take P1 back, as Leclerc aborted his final run. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll jumped up to second, just 0.079s off the pace.
Falling at the first hurdle were Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Zhou Guanyu, whose Sauber was badly damaged in a crash in FP3 and he didn’t manage to set a flying lap.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Stroll
What happened in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q2?
Verstappen again set the bar with 1m28.078s, 0.044s quicker than Fernando Alonso (Aston).
Verstappen chipped the P1 time down to 1m28.033s on his final run, 0.079s faster than Leclerc.
Knocked out at this point were Ferrari’s in-at-the-deep-end rookie Oliver Bearman, Alex Albon (Williams), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Daniel Ricciardo (RB) and Nico Hulkenberg (whose Haas broke down just a couple of corners into his first flying lap and briefly red-flagged the session).
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc
What happened in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen lapped in 1m27.472s, three tenths up on team-mate Perez.
On the final runs, Perez didn’t improve so Leclerc grabbed P2, 0.319s off Verstappen. Alonso grabbed fourth after getting a great tow from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Oscar Piastri will start fifth, ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, from the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Hamilton. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) qualified ninth, ahead of Stroll.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
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