After a dominant first round of the season, can anyone stop Red Bull from taking Pole in Jeddah?
Q1
In Qualifying 1: Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Nyck de Vries, Lando Norris and Logan Sargeant were the five slowest drivers. Yuki Tsunoda will be frustrated that he missed out on a Q2 appearance by 10 thousandths of a second whilst Alex Albon couldn’t quite hook up the lap. Nyck de Vries had a spin in the first corner in his first lap of the day (he didn’t take part in practice) and struggled to get near his teammate. Lando Norris had a shocking Qualifying as he hit the inside wall at turn 27 which resulted in him retiring from the session. Logan Sargeant did a brilliant first lap, but unfortunately, his lap was deleted for slightly cutting the run to the line (stupid rule) and he never recovered. Max Verstappen topped the session, nearly 5 tenths ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.
Q2
In Qualifying 2: Nico Hulkenberg, Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen all failed to make it into the top 10 shootout. Nico Hulkenberg narrowly missed out on a Q3 appearance, but he can be happy with his efforts whilst Zhou Guanyu also looked pretty good. Both Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas will be disappointed with themselves for being beaten by their teammates whilst Max Verstappen, who looked like a certainty for Pole position, suffered a mechanical issue that will see him start in P15. Sergio Perez topped Q2 by a tenth over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Q3
In Qualifying 3, Sergio Perez pulled out a 1:28.265 to take Pole position. Checo stepped up in Verstappen’s “absence” to take his second-ever Pole position in Formula 1 and tomorrow is a big day for him. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pulled out a brilliant lap to qualify in P2, but he’ll start P12 for tomorrow’s race due to his grid penalty. Fernando Alonso will start on the front row in tomorrow’s race after a really positive qualifying whilst George Russell can be super happy with his performance. Carlos Sainz struggled in all 3 sessions so he needs to pick up his pace whilst Lance Stroll, despite a positive performance, will be disappointed with a mistake that cost him being right there with his teammate. Esteban Ocon pulled out a brilliant lap to qualify P7 for Alpine whilst Lewis Hamilton only just about finished 8th after a tough session. Oscar Piastri showed his promise with a Q3 appearance whilst Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
Starting Grid for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and my Qualifying Grades
Sergio Perez: 10
Fernando Alonso: 9
George Russell: 9
Carlos Sainz: 7
Lance Stroll: 7
Esteban Ocon: 10
Lewis Hamilton: 5
Oscar Piastri: 9
Pierre Gasly: 8
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Zhou Guanyu: 7
Charles Leclerc: 10
Kevin Magnussen: 5
Valtteri Bottas: 5
Max Verstappen: -
Yuki Tsunoda: 3
Alex Albon: 3
Nyck de Vries: 2
Lando Norris: 1
Logan Sargeant: 2
My Predictions for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll
George Russell
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