- Red Bull driver Sergio Perez snatches pole position from Ferrari at the Jeddah GP thanks to a strong finish.
- Mercedes is a big disappointment. Lewis Hamilton (16th) is even eliminated after Q1.
- Mick Schumacher (Haas) crashes badly and will not be able to compete in the race.
- The GP Saudi Arabia takes place on Sunday (from 18:40 live on SRF info).
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez clinched the first pole position of his Formula 1 career in a grueling qualifying session in Saudi Arabia. For the second race of the season on Sunday, the Mexican secured the best starting position in front of the Ferrari duo with championship leaders Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. World champion Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull was 4th.
Schumacher with horror crash
However, the session was overshadowed by a serious accident involving Mick Schumacher. The Haas driver crashed into the barriers on the fast street circuit at well over 200 km/h, radio contact with his team broke off and the cameras avoided the scene of the accident.
Only half an hour later was there an initial all-clear. “Mick is fully conscious, he spoke to his mother. He has no external injuries, he’s doing well, that’s the most important thing,” said his team. Schumacher was taken to hospital for a safety check and will not start on Sunday. This is “to ensure that there is not any injury in the body,” said Haas team boss Günter Steiner sky.
Hamilton’s debacle, Alfa strong again
For record world champion Lewis Hamilton, the session was a disaster. The Englishman in the weakening Mercedes failed as 16th in Q1, for the first time since November 2017 it was over for him in the first section. His teammate George Russell fared much better and finished 6th.
Qualifying went much better for Alfa Romeo. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu survived the first cut. Zhou starts from position 13, Bottas from the 4th row from position 8.