Sergio Perez took advantage of a mechanical failure for his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen to seal pole position for the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP.
Verstappen had dominated the weekend and set the fastest time in all three practice sessions prior to qualifying, but a driveshaft mechanical failure saw the Red Bull driver end Q2 in 15th position.
That gave Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and the two Ferrari cars a chance at pole, but Perez put an end to any hope with a stunning lap to clinch first on the grid.
Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri made it into Q3 with his McLaren in only his second ever F1 qualifying session, eventually finishing ninth.
2023 Saudi Arabian GP – Qualifying Results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:28.265 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.155 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.465 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.592 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.666 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.680 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.813 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.958 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.978 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.092 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 12 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 18 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | Eliminated in Q1 |
Nice to see Piastri in Q3 ! Only his second F1 event .
Also nice to see him ahead of the Gasly / Alpine . The sulking deep thinkers at Alpine made the statement , they ended up with the better driver in Gasly , rather than Piastri . After their self imposed contract disaster .
I think Piastri may be the real deal .