Max Verstappen has taken provisional pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Red Bull ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
| Row 1 | 1. (1) Max Verstappen 1’27.472 Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB20 |
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| 2. (16) Charles Leclerc 1’27.791 Ferrari SF-24 |
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| Row 2 | 3. (11) Sergio Perez 1’27.807 Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB20 |
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| 4. (14) Fernando Alonso 1’27.846 Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR24 |
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| Row 3 | 5. (81) Oscar Piastri 1’28.089 McLaren-Mercedes MCL38 |
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| 6. (4) Lando Norris 1’28.132 McLaren-Mercedes MCL38 |
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| Row 4 | 7. (63) George Russell 1’28.316 Mercedes W15 |
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| 8. (44) Lewis Hamilton 1’28.460 Mercedes W15 |
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| Row 5 | 9. (22) Yuki Tsunoda 1’28.547 RB-Honda RBPT 01 |
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| 10. (18) Lance Stroll 1’28.572 Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR24 |
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| Row 6 | 11. (38) Oliver Bearman 1’28.642 Ferrari SF-24 |
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| 12. (23) Alexander Albon 1’28.980 Williams-Mercedes FW46 |
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| Row 7 | 13. (20) Kevin Magnussen 1’29.020 Haas-Ferrari VF-24 |
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| 14. (3) Daniel Ricciardo 1’29.025 RB-Honda RBPT 01 |
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| Row 8 | 15. (27) Nico Hulkenberg No time Haas-Ferrari VF-24 |
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| 16. (77) Valtteri Bottas 1’29.179 Sauber-Ferrari C44 |
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| Row 9 | 17. (31) Esteban Ocon 1’29.475 Alpine-Renault A524 |
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| 18. (10) Pierre Gasly 1’29.479 Alpine-Renault A524 |
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| Row 10 | 19. (2) Logan Sargeant 1’29.526 Williams-Mercedes FW46 |
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| 20. (24) Zhou Guanyu No time Sauber-Ferrari C44 |
Penalties
No penalties announced so far.
Investigations
Oliver Bearman was investigated for failing to adhere to the race director’s maximum lap time in Q1 and Q2 but cleared.
Sergio Perez was investigated for failing to adhere to the race director’s maximum lap time but cleared.
Qualifying times in full
| P. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 (v Q1) | Q3 (v Q2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’28.171 | 1’28.033 (-0.138s) | 1’27.472 (-0.561s) |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’28.318 | 1’28.112 (-0.206s) | 1’27.791 (-0.321s) |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1’28.638 | 1’28.467 (-0.171s) | 1’27.807 (-0.660s) |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1’28.706 | 1’28.122 (-0.584s) | 1’27.846 (-0.276s) |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1’28.755 | 1’28.343 (-0.412s) | 1’28.089 (-0.254s) |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1’28.805 | 1’28.479 (-0.326s) | 1’28.132 (-0.347s) |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’28.749 | 1’28.448 (-0.301s) | 1’28.316 (-0.132s) |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’28.994 | 1’28.606 (-0.388s) | 1’28.460 (-0.146s) |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1’28.988 | 1’28.564 (-0.424s) | 1’28.547 (-0.017s) |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1’28.250 | 1’28.578 (+0.328s) | 1’28.572 (-0.006s) |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | Ferrari | 1’28.984 | 1’28.642 (-0.342s) | Missed by 0.036s |
| 12 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1’29.107 | 1’28.980 (-0.127s) | Missed by 0.374s |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’29.069 | 1’29.020 (-0.049s) | Missed by 0.414s |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1’29.065 | 1’29.025 (-0.040s) | Missed by 0.419s |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1’29.055 | ||
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1’29.179 | Missed by 0.072s | |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1’29.475 | Missed by 0.368s | |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1’29.479 | Missed by 0.372s | |
| 19 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1’29.526 | Missed by 0.419s | |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber |
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2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see “progress”
- “So I’ve got nothing to worry about?” – The best unheard team radio from Jeddah
- “Shock” of poor start to season showed need for change at Alpine – Famin
- “My tyres are dying”: Stroll’s short-lived struggle until he hit the wall
- Bearman calls Ferrari debut a “dream” but admits “I made a lot of mistakes”
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
8th March 2024, 18:10
Good job to Mercedes, with Russel leading their development, and #1, sky is the limit.
Ben
8th March 2024, 18:19
Russell will direct the team where it needs to be. Mercedes made the right choice dropping Hamilton. Out-qualified in the last 5 events now and some way off again today. It looks closer because Russell didn’t get his final lap in, but it would have been near 0.4-0.6 behind Russell which is just embarrassing. Sad to say but I think Hamilton is done.
Ferrari will be kicking themselves swapping him for Sainz. Maybe a year to live a childhood dream and help Ferrari marketing but he’ll never win anything again.
Edvaldo
8th March 2024, 18:36
Mercedes didn’t drop Hamilton. He chose to leave.
As for Ferrari, even if Hamilton completely fails there, the massive raise in share price related to him driving there was already worth it.
Ben
8th March 2024, 19:25
Well they didn’t want to extend his contract and made it quite clear he wasn’t wanted for 2025. He was pushed rather than choosing to walk alone.
Oh I agree it’s a massive marketing opportunity. One which works for both. But it’s sad to see Sainz leave for someone who’ll be slower than Leclerc and struggle to make the top 10.
Greg
8th March 2024, 19:31
He had a contract with Mercedes for 2025 but it had a release clause and Hamilton actívated that to switch to Ferrari one early
Edvaldo
8th March 2024, 19:38
why would they even talk about an extension BEFORE this current deal even begins? Nobody does that. Of course they didn’t talk about it.
MadMax (@madmax)
8th March 2024, 20:12
whatever you take, take less of it. such weirdness in your hate theories
Josh Barber
8th March 2024, 18:37
Drive to Survive and it’s consequences, have been a disaster for the human race…
ludewig
8th March 2024, 18:48
@Ben
A lot of drivers seem to mentally check out once they decide to leave. Hopefully Lewis will bounce back at Ferrari.
Gavin Watson
8th March 2024, 20:31
I doubt he will perform at Ferrari. A bit like Schumacher’s move to Mercedes, didn’t fire.
Nick T.
8th March 2024, 20:54
Not a Hamilton fan, but this typical F1 mans and even media: judging drivers on their last (or 1 GP + 1 quali in this case). Hamilton, a bit like Vettel, thrives when the car is working beautifully and usually has a half extra gear over even great drivers in those situations. But he’s never looked particularly great in cars that are fast, but nervous and inconsistent.
So, it’s ridiculous to write him off as having lost it. I think he’ll be fantastic if Ferrari give him a fast and consistent platform, but disappointing if it has changeable character and is tricky to setup.
Nick T.
8th March 2024, 20:55
but this is typical F1 fans and media*
MadMax (@madmax)
8th March 2024, 18:21
good job for p7 and p8. needs the stupidity of a bully to think so.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th March 2024, 18:11
TV director, man. What the heck… Following Hamilton for the whole lap for absolutely no reason. He was sitting 9th at the time. Why not show any other of the potential pole sitters? My stream froze a bit so I don’t know how much of Max we saw. We saw all Hamilton’s lap then just the final straight for Piastri, Leclerc and Alonso.
Woeful as always. I know it’s hard to know beforehand who to follow. But surely following a guy that’s never looked like even fighting for the front rows isn’t the way to go either.
Harsha Vardhan Maagalam
8th March 2024, 18:15
Remember Imola 2022 , and the battle for p13 all race ?
Jere (@jerejj)
8th March 2024, 18:17
Bearman failing to reach Q3 is unsurprising as is both Alpines out in Q1, although I didn’t expect a new outright track record.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
8th March 2024, 18:27
The drivers in 11th to last on this article seem to say that they have set no lap time at all. Surely their best times should still be shown even if they failed to reach q3?
Edvaldo
8th March 2024, 18:43
This looks even less promising than the first one.
DaveW (@dmw)
8th March 2024, 19:28
For Mercedes being nearly a second behind on a sub 90 second track has to be a gut punch. After chucking their old concept for a conventional car too. No more excuses really. And Sainz being means the result flatters their position.
Edvaldo
8th March 2024, 22:16
Russell fumbled his last attempt right at the beginning, i believe he had at least a couple of tenths in hand.
Hamilton on the other hand, was just slow.