It was a “simply lovely” qualifying session for Max Verstappen, who snatched a shock pole position for Red Bull Racing.

We have our session-by-session report on qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix here in one place for you.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Q1 report

Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix kicked off with a quick launch onto the track for the teams battling it out in the midfield.

The Haas duo set the first timed flying laps, but McLaren didn’t take long snapping up the lead, with Oscar Piastri taking an early lead with a time of 1:28.019 — just 0.007 seconds ahead of teammate Lando Norris.

Norris lowered the benchmark to a 1:27.805 to assume the lead with seven minutes remaining in the session.

There were a few messes during the session, with Alex Albon looking as if he nipped the wall, while Alpine released Pierre Gasly with a tyre warmer string still attached to his car — not ideal for a driver looking to push himself into Q2.

With under a minute remaining, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull took a moment of glory up at the top of the time sheets

Knocked out in Q1 was Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto — both Saubers, one Aston, one Alpine, and one Haas.

Saudi Arabian GP Q1 Times

• 1. Max Verstappen (McLaren) 1:27.778
• 2. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:27.805
• 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:27.901
• 4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:2.128
• 5. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:28.226
• 6. Alex Albon (Williams) 1:28.279
• 7. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:28.282
• 8. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:28.354
• 9. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:28.372
• 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:28.421
• 11. Oliver Bearman (Haas) 1:28.536
• 12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:28.548
• 13. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:28.552
• 14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:28.561
• 15. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1:28.571
• 16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:28.645
• 17. Jack Doohan (Alpine) 1:28.739
• 18. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1:28.782
• 19. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1:29.092
• 20. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 1:29.462

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Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Q2 report

“Man, that was close!”

That was the call from Kimi Antonelli as his Mercedes was released just behind a McLaren at the start of Q2 as the field rushed to get up to speed. Liam Lawson was also put under investigation for an unsafe release.

First to set a time was the Williams of Alex Albon, though he was soon knocked down the board as the remainder of the field set their fast laps.

Oscar Piastri was the first front-runner to top the charts with just under 10 minutes remaining in the session despite having made an early mistake in Sector 1, though he was once again usurped by Max Verstappen. However, Norris set an even faster lap moments later.

Lawson’s day was made all the more challenging after his fast lap was deleted with five minutes remaining in the session.

Much of the field returned to the track in the closing minutes of the session in hopes of nabbing a better starting slot; Norris and Albon were the only two to remain in the pits.

The top positions didn’t change as the scramble to make it to Q3 dominated the lower end of the field.

In his difficult weekend, Lewis Hamilton was the final driver to make it to Q3, a fraction of a second ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon.

This was also the end of the road for the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, and the Haas of Oliver Bearman.

Saudi Arabian GP Q2 Times

• 1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:27.481
• 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:27.529
• 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:27.545
• 4. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:27.599
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:27.798
• 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:27.866
• 7. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:27.990
• 8. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:28.024
• 9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine 1:28.o24
• 10. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:28.102
• 11. Alex Albon (Williams) 1:28.109
• 12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1:28.191
• 13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:28202
• 14. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1:28.418
• 15. Oliver Bearman (Haas) 1:27.648

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: Q3 report

Oscar Piastri set the fastest time just moments before a red flag flew for a crash by teammate Lando Norris! The championship leader let the team know he was OK, but referred to himself as a “f***ing idiot.”

The green flag flew with just over eight and a half minutes on the clock, with Sainz, Gasly, and Verstappen jumping into action straight away.

It was Verstappen who snatched that first fast lap to secure provisional pole by a thousandth of a second over Piastri’s initial time — all while Verstappen’s engineer informed him that his tyres weren’t perfectly up to temperature just yet.

But as the session came to a close, George Russell soon mounted a challenge, snatching provisional pole from Verstappen, though Piastri was back out momentarily setting the pace in the first sector — enough to snatch provisional pole… all while Verstappen set a best first sector.

And that was it: Verstappen did it. He took a stunning pole position that must have felt particularly gratifying after such a difficult weekend in Bahrain. It was worth a “simply lovely” from the driver in question.

Saudi Arabian GP Q3 Times

• 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:27.294
• 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:27.304
• 3. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:27.407
• 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:27.670
• 5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1:27.866
• 6. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1:28.164
• 7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1:28.201
• 8. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1:28.204
• 9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:28.367
• 10. Lando Norris (McLaren) N/A – crash

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