by 4:16 pm
Current builder rating
I think a Red Bull 1-2 at Jeddah is probably the most likely outcome, almost… so one would expect them to extend their lead over Aston Martin today. Let’s hope for something a little more interesting today…
4:08 pm
Current pilot rating
Perez has a good chance of moving to the top, for what it’s worth.
4:03 pm
The standout riders from yesterday’s qualifying?
You always have to look at the gaps between teammates as evidence, so based on that: Alonso, Russell and Piastri. Piastri in Q3 in his second race and after a very difficult debut.
This is impressive and should fill you with confidence. Norris, meanwhile, ended his session after scoring the wall and will start on the back row. An unusual error.
3:56 pm
qualifying times
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Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1min 28.265secs
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Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:28.420
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Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:28.730
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George Russell (GBR) Mercedes GP 1:28.857
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Carlos Sainz jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:28.931
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Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:28.945
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Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:29.078
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Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes GP 1:29.223
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Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:29.243
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Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:29.357
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Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) MoneyGram Haas F1 1:29.451
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Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1:29.461
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Kevin Magnussen (Den) MoneyGram Haas F1 1:29.517
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Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1:29.668
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Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:49.953
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Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:29.939
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Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:29,994
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Nyck de Vries (Ned) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:30.244
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Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren 1:30.447
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Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 2:08.510
3:51 pm
Watch: The moment everything went wrong for Verstappen
13:42
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our live coverage of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. After going home with victory in the first round, Max Verstappen will have a tougher task to take victory in the second race of the new season after suffering a mechanical problem in qualifying.
Verstappen, who had led every session up to that point and was miles ahead in Q1, had a driveshaft failure in the second part of qualifying yesterday without a lap on the scoreboard. That means he will start 15th in today’s race. To be fair, that’s probably as good as the dominance he was showing meant that a repeat of his easy victory in Bahrain a fortnight ago looked very likely. For example: the gap between Verstappen and second-placed Sergio Perez in Q1 was greater than the gap between Perez and 12th-placed Esteban Ocon…
In the final assessment, it was Perez who found the time in Q3 to claim his second career pole position – his last was at this track a year ago, although he was unable to convert it into victory. Charles Leclerc set a very encouraging lap for Ferrari, just one and a half tenths of Perez’s time. The concern is that the gap could have been closer to a second had Verstappen made it to Q3. However, Leclerc loses 10 places on the grid to an unscheduled power unit change, so he will start 12th.
Fernando Alonso’s new life continues, and the Spaniard was third for Aston Martin with George Russell fourth for Mercedes. Alonso, however, will start on the front row alongside Perez after Leclerc’s penalty is applied. It should be an interesting start, although Red Bull’s pace, even in Perez’s hands, could be too much if he gets ahead early on. In fact, it might be too much even if he doesn’t get ahead.
Having said that, Jeddah is a very fast street circuit and there is a high probability of there being a Safety Car or even a red flag period. This throws some unpredictability into the equation. Very few drivers are ruling out a win for Verstappen, and Russell has cited his foray into Spa last year as an example. You certainly can’t rule that out, though it should be at least a little tougher than his victory two weeks ago.
Anyway, the race starts at 17:00 GMT and we’ll be here for all the preparations, latest updates and race reaction.
