Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri dominated the timing sheets in the final practice session ahead of the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Norris finishing 0.024 seconds ahead of his teammate, but notably more than sixth-tenths ahead of George Russell in P3.
However, soon enough those lap times will count for real.
Today is qualifying day at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and with a season-high 27 corners set to challenge the drivers over an hour of qualifying, and then in the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, starting up front is pivotal, unless you want to be in the middle of the pack when the eventual chaos ensues.
McLaren has been strong again all week, but just a few weeks ago a similar scenario played out in Suzuka, with Max Verstappen shocking the McLaren duo by snatching pole position on Saturday, and then winning the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Piastri on Sunday. Can Verstappen deliver another shocker, or will this be a Papaya Saturday along the Red Sea?
We’ll be covering qualifying live, so come back early and often!
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q3
- Russell goes into P1 by more than one-tenth over Verstappen!
- Russell is purple through Sector 1. Could the Mercedes driver deliver a stunner?
- Verstappen is on provisional pole by an astonishingly slim margin.
How slim? Just 0.001 seconds ahead of Piastri.
- The analysts on F1TV note that the medical “light” was not triggered for Norris’ crash, which means rather than a visit to the medical tent to be checked out, he will head straight to the media pen for his post-qualifying duties.
This is a good time to explain how that all works. After each qualifying or race session, all 20 drivers are required to participate in media duties. All 20 must speak with each TV rights holder that is present at the track, which creates a humorous situation in that area of the media pen as the drivers wait their turn to speak with each outlet and answer the same set of questions.
Then the top three finishers head to the FIA Press Conference, while the other 17 must speak with the written media — for those wondering this is the category I fall into — and speak at just one of the three available podiums.
This process begins almost immediately after a driver’s session ends. For example, when Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the United States Grand Prix on Lap 2 last season, he was in the media session answering questions less than 20 minutes later. Which is how I was able to chat with him after that moment.
So, that is what awaits Norris now as Q3 concludes.
- Q3 has resumed, with nine drivers left fighting for pole position.
- Q3 will resume in one minute.
- “This isn’t show friends, it’s show business,” says David Coulthard as the camera zooms in on Piastri waiting to return to the track.
Norris’ crash does shift the advantage in the Drivers’ Championship race to Piastri even more. Piastri seemed to move into the driver’s seat in that race after his win in Bahrain, and depending on how the rest of the weekend unfolds, he could have a big lead come Monday.
- The clock is paused with 8:32 left in Q3. Piastri is the only driver to have set a time, with a benchmark of 1:27.560.
- Replays show Norris wobbling through Turn 4, and then skidding off the racing line and into the wall.
- “I’m okay” is the message from Norris.
- Russell radios in for his team to “check the floor” during his first push lap. There is a red flag as Norris is in the wall.
- Piastri is the first driver on the track for Q3, followed by the Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli.
- The green light is out in Jeddah, and we have 12 minutes to decide pole position.
- Speaking in the media pen, Nico Hülkenberg talks about the “fine margins” that are a fixture of F1 right now.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q2
- Tsunoda gets through, coming across the line P7 right at the end of Q2. Hamilton finishes in P10, just 0.007 seconds ahead of Albon in P11.
Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, and Bearman are the five drivers eliminated in Q2.
- Gasly jumps up to P8, which should be good for Q3.
- Antonelli’s lap is good for P5. Sainz’s lap is good for P6, which puts Hamilton and Tsunoda on the bubble as those drivers sit P9 and P10, respectively.
- Under three minutes remain in Q2, and the final sets of push laps have begun. Mercedes drier Kimi Antonelli has just begun his final push lap, currently sitting P10.
- Albon is out of the drop zone, as he completes a strong lap on a new set of soft tires that bumps him up to P6, and drops Gasly into the drop zone for the moment.
- With under seven minutes left in Q2, the bottom five are: Albon, Bearman, Hadjar, Fernando Alonso, and Lawson.
- Norris pips Verstappen, taking P1 by just 0.048 seconds over the Red Bull driver. While Verstappen was strongest in Sector 1, Norris was ahead in both Sector 2 and Sector 3.
- Piastri’s first lap has him in P1, with a time of 1:27.690. But Verstappen was purple through the first sector, and nips Piastri by 0.161 seconds.
- Q2 has begun, and Albon is the first driver on the track.
- Despite Lance Stroll sitting in P16, Aston Martin is keeping him in the car just in case a driver ahead of him has their time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q1
- Q1 comes to a close and the eliminated drivers are: Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
- Gasly jumps into P9, and Bearman into P10. Hamilton is currently on a push lap in P15, but should get through to Q2.
- Meanwhile at the front of the field Verstappen has just gone P1, 0.027 seconds ahead of Norris.
- Doohan is currently on a tremendous push lap. Was three-tenths ahead of Bearman through Sector 1, and almost two-tenths ahead of Bearman (who is in P15 right now) through Sector 2.
- With under three minutes to go the drop zone stands as: Jack Doohan, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
- Alex Albon rockets into P4, and may have tapped the wall along the way. A thunderous lap from the Williams driver.
- Hamilton pulls himself out of the drop zone with a lap that pushes him into P10. But with the track continuing to evolve he is by no means safe for Q2.
- Isack Hadjar brushed the wall at the exit of Turn 27 with his right rear, but his VCARB02 seems to be okay.
- Less than eight minutes remain in Q1, and the five drivers in the drop zone are Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
- Piastri’s first push lap puts him to the top of the table, but just 0.007 seconds ahead of Norris.
- Verstappen’s lap comes in just behind Norris, 0.122 seconds behind. The Red Bull driver is in P2.
- Verstappen’s first push lap is underway. He was just off Norris’ pace in both Sector 1 and Sector 2.
- Norris goes purple through both Sector 1 and Sector 2, and his first push lap comes in at 1:28.026, which is over eight-tenths ahead of Alex Albon who is currently in P2.
- Esteban Ocon is the first driver out of pit lane, followed by Haas teammate Oliver Bearman. Ocon will be the first driver to bank a timed lap.
Bearman is also marking an anniversary of sorts, as he made his F1 debut in Saudi Arabia a season ago, driving in place of an ailing Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari. Bearman delivered a strong performance, finishing seventh.
- The Sauber duo of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto are among the first drivers out of the pits as several take to the track.
- The green light is out at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. 18 minutes to find 15 drivers to advance to Q2, and eliminate the bottom five.
Pre-qualifying notes
- Alex Brundle and Chris Medland both pick Piastri for pole, while Laura Winter goes with Norris.
As for me, I’ll go with Norris to have a strong bounceback performance after last week’s disappointment.
- Horner: “I think in this temperature, the McLarens are out of reach.”
- Christian Horner stops by F1TV and again pours cold water on the rumors that Max Verstappen will be leaving Red Bull. “That’s really what it is, noise.”
- Chris Medland on F1TV notes that Williams has enjoyed a strong week so far, and expects both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. to advance into Q3.
- Alex Brundle on the F1TV pre-qualifying show: “It’s McLaren’s to lose … “
- As we wait for F1 qualifying, Arvid Lindblad just won the F2 Sprint race after a five-second penalty was handed out to Richard Verschoor. With his promotion to the win, the 17-year-old becomes the youngest race winner in F2 history. He was born in 2007. So … I bet you feel old right now, because I sure do.