Max Verstappen has continued his quest to retain the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, outpacing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for pole position at Saturday’s 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
After leading Red Bull to a commanding one-two finish in the season’s opening race in Bahrain, Verstappen strengthened his championship lead, clinching pole position by 0.3 seconds at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
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Charles Leclerc for Ferrari delivered a stunning performance to finish just behind Verstappen, preventing Red Bull from locking out the front row as Sergio Perez settled for third.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso showed pace again, securing a fourth position after a lacklustre performance in Bahrain, ahead of the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
George Russell, who seemed in contention for a higher spot, finished seventh due to an error on his final lap. Yet he managed to outperform his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton once again, who ended up in eighth.
Yuki Tsunoda, recovering from a last race’s controversy over team orders and the cool-down lap, impressed by claiming ninth spot for RB, while Lance Stroll for Aston Martin completed the top ten.
Oliver Bearman, taking Carlos Sainz’s seat at Ferrari following Sainz’s appendicitis surgery, narrowly missed the top ten, finishing eleventh after a close run in Q1 and Q2.
Bearman opens up
In a post-qualifying interview, Ollie Bearman opened up on his first F1 qualifying session:
“At the moment not so proud, the racer in me knows that the car was quick enough to be in Q3, so a little bit disappointed with that.
“But I know that when I look back in a couple of days I’ll be quite proud of what I’ve managed to do today.
“The goal was to do as many laps as possible. Especially at night, I missed FP2 which is not ideal. That was the goal.
“The soft tyre lasts quite well, it’s quite durable, so just tried to get as many laps in Q1. Q2 was a bit more messy, a few mistakes on my side, so that’s where I’m disappointed.”
Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying Results
2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, 8 March 2024
| Pos | Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:28.171 | 1:28.033 | 1:27.472 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:28.318 | 1:28.112 | 1:27.791 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:28.638 | 1:28.467 | 1:27.807 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:28.706 | 1:28.122 | 1:27.846 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:28.755 | 1:28.343 | 1:28.089 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:28.805 | 1:28.479 | 1:28.132 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:28.749 | 1:28.448 | 1:28.316 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.994 | 1:28.606 | 1:28.460 |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:28.988 | 1:28.564 | 1:28.547 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:28.250 | 1:28.578 | 1:28.572 |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | Ferrari | 1:28.984 | 1:28.642 | |
| 12 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:29.107 | 1:28.980 | |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:29.069 | 1:29.020 | |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:29.065 | 1:29.025 | |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:29.055 | DNF | |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:29.179 | ||
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:29.475 | ||
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:29.479 | ||
| 19 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:29.526 | ||
| NC | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | DNF |
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