F1 2023: Sergio Pérez takes second career pole at Saudi Arabian GP as Verstappen faces credibility crisis
The Jeddah circuit is the ‘fastest road track’ on the Formula One calendar, with cars averaging around 250 km/h (160 mph). With some intriguing turns and high average speeds, the first night Grand Prix race of the season is expected to be a great show tomorrow. He said, Ability The session for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a mixed bag, with Max Verstappen settling for P15 after a reliability crisis, while teammate Sergio Pérez took the second pole position of his career.
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Here’s how 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying went down –
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 Qualifying 1:
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (1:28.761) and Sergio Pérez (+0.483) led Q1, finishing in P1 and P2 respectively, with Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll third and fourth respectively. Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc (5th) and Carlos Sainz (6th) were close behind, followed by Nico Hulkenberg in seventh. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Nyck de Vries, Lando Norris and Logan Sargent crashed out in the first qualifying round.
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 Qualifying 2:
Max Verstappen started as favorite to take pole today but was eliminated in Q2 due to a mechanical problem. With a fastest lap time of 1:28.635, his teammate Sergio Pérez took P1 in second qualifying, ahead of Fernando Alonso in P2. Charles Leclerc was third fastest while Carlos Sainz was fourth. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 5 in Q2. Besides Verstappen (who takes P15 tomorrow), Nico Hulkenberg, Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas were also out in the second qualifying session, and will start the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP from 11th to 14th on the grid.
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023 Qualifying 3:
Sergio Pérez was fastest in the third quarter with a time of 1:28.265, securing pole position in yesterday’s Grand Prix race – his second pole start ever. Charles Leclerc was second fastest in Q3 but is set to serve a 10-place grid penalty tomorrow after taking another control electronics power unit component. This means the young Scuderia Ferrari driver will start tomorrow’s race from P12, earning one place on the grid ahead of all drivers between P3 and P12.
George Russell was 4th fastest in final qualifying, while Carlos Sainz took P5. Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly finished sixth to 10th respectively, but all moved up a place thanks to Leclerc’s penalty yesterday.
Stay tuned to TOI Auto for tomorrow’s 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race report as well as other important Formula One updates.
