Max Verstappen snatched a sensational pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a thrilling qualifying session under the lights in Jeddah, edging out Oscar Piastri by just one-thousandth of a second.
The Dutchman’s 1:27.294 lap sealed his 42nd career pole in one of the closest qualifying sessions in recent memory — a dramatic end to a three-part shootout that featured crashes, razor-thin margins, and standout performances across the field.
Q1: Fine Margins and Final-Second Surges
The opening qualifying segment set the tone for what would become a fiercely competitive session.
Alex Albon set the early benchmark with a 1:28.866 before Lando Norris jumped to the top with a 1:28.026, with 12 minutes still on the clock.
Yuki Tsunoda impressed with a lap just under four-tenths slower than Norris and marginally behind teammate Verstappen — echoing their time gap from FP3.
McLaren then tightened their grip at the front as Oscar Piastri edged Norris with a 1:28.019.
Rookies Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson continued their upward trajectory, placing ninth and eleventh, respectively — just one-tenth apart. But as the track evolved, they were bumped down the order by Alonso, Sainz, Stroll, Bearman, and Hülkenberg.
Hadjar had a near-miss, tapping the wall at the exit of the final corner — the same place Tsunoda crashed during FP2 — but escaped without significant damage.
Norris continued to extract performance from the McLaren, clocking a 1:27.805 to go fastest once again. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, winner of the inaugural Saudi GP in 2021, could only manage tenth — eight-tenths off the pace.
Teammate Charles Leclerc slotted into seventh, just a tenth clear of Hamilton, as Ferrari lacked one-lap pace.
Both Mercedes made it into the top 10 with four minutes to go — Russell fifth, four-tenths off the top time, and rookie Kimi Antonelli eighth, just under eight-tenths adrift. Albon continued to impress, jumping to fourth with a lap just four-tenths off Norris.
With less than three minutes left, Lawson, Doohan, Gasly, Ocon, and Bortoleto occupied the bottom five — each with one final attempt to break into Q2.
Doohan improved to 13th, Hadjar jumped to tenth, and Verstappen responded by reclaiming the top spot with a 1:27.778.
Lawson delivered under pressure, vaulting from 17th to 11th with a three-tenth improvement, ahead of Hadjar. Tsunoda also found two-tenths to go fifth, and Gasly and Bearman surged from 18th to 9th and 10th, respectively.
Hamilton, in a last-gasp effort, improved and moved up to 9th, securing himself a place in Q2.
Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen led the session. Antonelli and Tsunoda rounded out the top five, separated by just under five-tenths.
Q1 Eliminations: Stroll (P16, missed out by 0.003s), Doohan, Hülkenberg, Ocon and Bortoleto
Q1 Top 5: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Antonelli, Tsunoda
Q2: Norris Sets the Pace as Midfield Battle Heats Up
Albon was first to set a flying lap — a 1:28.581 — before Bearman got within a tenth. Gasly then jumped to the top by a tenth over Albon.
Hadjar’s first flyer placed him fifth, just under a second off the pace. The frontrunners emerged again, with Piastri briefly going quickest before Verstappen responded with a 1:27.529.
Russell slotted into third, four-tenths off Verstappen and three-tenths behind Piastri, while Norris had yet to set a lap.
The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz were close — Leclerc fourth and Sainz fifth — separated by two-tenths. Tsunoda split the red cars with his lap, going fifth and just over six-tenths off Verstappen.
After losing the rear at Turn 9 and aborting his first flyer, Lawson still hadn’t set a time.
Norris, once again, underlined McLaren’s pace, going fastest with a 1:27.481.
Midway through the session, all drivers pitted for fresh tyres and setup changes. Albon was first to return, making a solid improvement from 11th to sixth, six-tenths off the pace. Lawson returned to the track for his only flying lap of Q2, facing immense pressure.
The bottom five were Gasly, Bearman, Hadjar, Alonso, and Lawson.
Antonelli delivered under pressure, jumping from 10th to 5th with a five-tenth improvement, pushing Sainz to the brink in 10th. Piastri climbed from fourth to third, maintaining McLaren’s stronghold.
Sainz answered the challenge, improving by three-tenths to go sixth. Hadjar improved by two-tenths to 11th — not enough to progress.
Lawson bettered his teammate by two-tenths to go 10th, knocking Hamilton into the bottom five.
Hamilton struck back with a clutch lap to go eighth. Lawson was bumped to 11th, but Gasly then went from 13th to eighth with a four-tenth improvement, sending Tsunoda into the drop zone.
Alonso couldn’t extract enough time, improving by three-tenths but only managing 13th. Tsunoda responded with a late push, jumping from 11th to 7th with an improvement of nearly two-tenths.
In the end, Hamilton narrowly scraped into Q3 in 10th — just 0.007s ahead of Albon in 11th.
Q2 Eliminations: Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, Bearman
Top 5 in Q2: Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli – only 0.060s separated the top three.
“It’s obviously good to extract everything out of the car,” Lawson said after qualifying.
“But it’s just a shame. The midfield is so close right now and it’s clear that Alpine and Williams have made a step somewhere recently.
“It’s up to us to try and match that. We did a really good job with the car this weekend.
“We’ve been chasing it hard in these sessions. We put together the best package we had today.
“We’ve just got to keep working. [Points are] the target, but it’s going to be hard, for sure.”
Q3: Red Flag, Drama, and a Thousandth of a Second
Q3 began with immediate chaos. Oscar Piastri crossed the line to set a 1:27.560 — just milliseconds before a red flag was waved after Norris crashed at Turn 4.
The McLaren driver clipped the wall on the exit, heavily damaging his front left and ending his session prematurely. Norris reported over the team radio that he was okay.
The incident could have massive implications for the championship, with only three points separating the McLaren pair in the standings.
Piastri’s lap was reviewed but ultimately allowed, having crossed the line a fraction of a second before red lights appeared.
After the delay, Verstappen was the first back on track and lit up the timing screens — faster than Piastri in Sector 1 and green in Sector 2 — and crossed the line to go fastest by just 0.001s with a 1:27.294.
Russell looked set to snatch provisional pole after going 0.145s quicker in Sector 1 but lost time in Sector 2. He still managed to edge ahead with a strong final sector, going quickest overall.
Piastri wasn’t done. He responded with another rapid lap, going purple in Sector 1 and reclaiming provisional pole from Russell.
But Verstappen delivered a masterclass in his final attempt — again setting the pace in Sector 1, improving across the lap, and ultimately sealing pole position with a blistering 1:27.294.
“I’m very happy. I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole after FP3 as well, looking at how the whole weekend had been so far, but the car came alive in the night. We made some final changes, and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive; the grip was coming to me. Around here, qualifying is extremely difficult because of all the walls; you need to nail it.
“It’s really satisfying to be first here in qualifying; of course, it’s the best position for tomorrow, even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind, but we are going to give it a good go,” said Verstappen
Q3 Classification:
- 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 1:27.294
- 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +0.001
- 3. George Russell (Mercedes) – +0.113
- 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.376
- 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.572
- 6. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.870
- 7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) + 0.907
- 8. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +0.910
- 9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.073
- 10. Lando Norris (McLaren) – No time set
A Grand Prix Set for Fireworks
With Verstappen on pole by the slimmest of margins, Piastri alongside him, and Russell within striking distance, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix promises a mouthwatering showdown.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli starts an impressive fifth, continuing his remarkable debut season form, while Norris has damage to assess and a recovery drive ahead from tenth.
Can Lawson score his first points of the season, starting the race in P12, and continue outperforming his teammate?
With just over a tenth covering the top three and plenty of variables in play, Sunday night in Jeddah is set to deliver fireworks.
Header Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
