F1 2022 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying: Perez Grabs Maiden Pole Ahead Of The Ferraris

Sergio Perez drove a stellar lap right at the end of Q3 to snatch away pole position from Charles Leclerc by a mere 0.025 seconds. While the Mexican wasn't topping the qualifying charts before that, he set the timing charts alight on his final attempt, which was 0.261 seconds faster than his defending World Champion teammate Max Verstappen, who qualified 4th. Checo described the pole lap as "The lap of my life", truly highlighting his extraordinary effort.

Leclerc was equally surprised by Perez's lap as most viewers, as the Monegasque didn't expect his lap time to be beaten. He was pretty comfortable in his car and his lap looked seemingly unbeatable. Carlos Sainz qualified 3rd, as the Spaniard couldn't find pace on a fresh set of soft tyres and had to revert to used tyres. Max Verstappen also struggled with similar issues and said that he was "confused" with the lack of grip in the Q3 session.

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Sergio Perez's maiden pole was also the first pole position by a Mexican driver

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The qualifying session had 2 red flag periods, one in Q1 and Q2 each. The first red flag was triggered by Nicolas Latifi's Williams, as it spun out and crashed into the barriers, narrowly missing a marshal. The second one was more dramatic, as Mick Schumacher hit a kerb and crashed heavily into a wall, dismembering his car. The German driver was taken to a hospital for precautionary checkups via an air ambulance, and was reportedly okay, but will miss the Grand Prix.

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Perhaps the only thing that surprised more than Checo's pole position was Hamilton's elimination in Q1. The 7-time World Champion could only qualify 16th, in front of Latifi, Hulkenberg, and Albon, as Mercedes continues to investigate why his car lacked qualifying pace. What was also noteworthy was that the bottom 5 cars barring Tsunoda - who didn't start the session - were all powered by Mercedes engines, highlighting the power deficit of the engines produced by High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth.

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Lewis Hamilton marked his first Q1 exit since Brazil 2017, where he crashed into the barriers, after securing his 4th World Championship in the race before

On the other side of the garage, George Russel did the best he could, living up to his 'Mr. Saturday' reputation by qualifying 6th, 0.036 seconds behind Esteban Ocon who impressed by qualifying P5. The Brit added that fighting for P6 is not the team's goal, and the Brackley based outfit is actively looking into finding a solution to their performance troubles.

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Ricciardo will start P14 after a 3-place grid drop penalty for impeding Ocon

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The Mclarens delivered a better result this time around, qualifying 11th and 12th, but the team is still far from where it wants to be. To add to their troubles, Daniel Ricciardo has been handed a 3-place grid drop penalty pushing him to 15th, as he was found to have impeded Ocon in qualifying. He will start the race in 14th as Mick Schumacher won't take part in the race.

Qualifying Results: