Perez will start ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and George Russell (Mercedes) after the hour-long qualifying session, which was split into three segments with five cars each eliminated in Q1 and Q2 before the top 10 shootout of Q3.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying results: Perez on pole ahead of Alonso
What happened at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Q1?
Perez set the early pace at 1:29.261 when Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) had a massive spin on his first attempt. Verstappen then unleashed 1m28.761s to beat his teammate in first place by half a second.
McLaren’s Lando Norris hit the wall on the inside of the final corner, sending him into the pits with steering and suspension damage, while Alonso spun at Turn 2 before finishing third fastest. Logan Sargeant also spun his Williams at high speed at Turn 22, amazingly without hitting the wall.
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Alex Albon (Williams), de Vries, Norris and Sargeant failed at the first hurdle.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q1 Results: Verstappen fastest by Perez
What happened in Q2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
Alonso set the initial pace at 1:28.757 minutes, three tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Verstappen came out on his first flying lap after being crossed but then suffered a driveshaft failure on his second push lap which left him limping into the pits and out of the session.
Perez lapped Alonso a tenth and took P2 ahead of Leclerc. Perez ran again at the end and clocked a 1m28.635s to go 0.122s off the session.
Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and shockingly Verstappen were eliminated at this point.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q2 results: Perez fastest ahead of Alonso
What happened in Q3 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
In the early heats, Alonso set the benchmark with a 1m28.925s before Leclerc lapped in 1m28.757s, overtaking him by 0.168s. Russell briefly took P2 for Mercedes, 0.115s behind Leclerc, before Perez took provisional pole by almost half a second with a 1m28.265s.
In the final heats, Alonso jumped back to P2, but Leclerc reacted and reclaimed the position, 0.155s behind Perez – meaning a P12 start thanks to his 10-place penalty.
Alonso will start second on the grid ahead of Russell, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Q3 Results: Perez Takes Pole
Source : www.autosport.com