Saudi Arabia GP: Sergio Perez to START from Pole, Fernando Alonso on 2nd place, Max Verstappen OUT of Q2 with Engine Trouble

Saudi Arabia GP: Formula 1 2023 Season – Sergio Perez will start from Pole on Sunday. He will be joined by Fernando Alonso who finished 2nd in the qualifying spree. Max Verstappen had a gearbox issue and thus was knocked out from Q2. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand had a disappointing session. The Brit will start 7th from the grid. Check Formula 1 Highlights with InsideSport.IN.

Saudi Arabia GP: Sergio Perez to START from Pole, Fernando Alonso on 2nd place, Max Verstappen OUT of Q2 with Engine Trouble – Check Highlights

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Free Practice 2 Highlights

Max Verstappen continued to set the pace in Jeddah, as the Red Bull driver topped the timesheets in the second practice session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, placing ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and his team mate Sergio Perez.

After the blazing hot opening practice hour on Friday afternoon, the drivers came out onto a much cooler track for FP2, with the sun having set and the floodlights turned on – in what were much more representative conditions to those they will face in qualifying and in the race.

And it was Verstappen – who also topped the timesheets in FP1 – who led the way in the customary FP2 qualifying simulation runs, setting a time of 1m 29.603s, with his nearest challenger, Alonso, 0.208s behind, with last year’s pole-sitter, Perez, who was third quickest, 0.299s behind his team mate.

It was a strong showing from Alpine on Friday, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing fourth and sixth respectively in the session, with the Mercedes of George Russell sandwiched between the French pair in P5.

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QUALIFYING START TIMES ⏰

From where in the world will you be watching Quali? 🌏#SaudiArabianGP #F1 @ROLEX pic.twitter.com/LVHzdtTDna

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 17, 2023

Lance Stroll, in the sister Aston Martin, was seventh fastest, ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, in P9 and P10, respectively – with Leclerc, set to take a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race, heard complaining of engine issues late in the session.

Lewis Hamilton – who won the first race in Jeddah back in 2021 – was 11th fastest after having his first run on the soft tyre impeded by yellow flags, ahead of his compatriot Lando Norris, in 12th, for McLaren.

Yuki Tsunoda was the quickest of the AlphaTauri drivers, in 13th, ahead of the lead Williams of Alex Albon, the sister Haas of Kevin Magnussen, and the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu down in P16.

Tsunoda’s team mate Nyck de Vries finished the session down in 17th, ahead of his fellow rookies Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri – who had to take avoiding action after nearly hitting the rear of Sainz – with Valtteri Bottas at the rear of the field for Alfa Romeo.

Saudi Arabia GP LIVE: Max Verstappen SET to DOMINATE FP3 & Qualifying Session at Saudi GP, Fernando Alonso EYE to continue Good Form – Follow F1 2023 LIVE Updates

Free Practice 1 Highlights

Championship leader Max Verstappen set the fastest time of FP1 in Saudi Arabia ahead of his Red Bull team mate, Sergio Perez, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third.

Despite the heat – heat that will dissipate under the lights for FP2, qualifying and the race – Red Bull and Aston Martin began the session with respective drivers Perez and Alonso donning soft tyres.

The pair traded places at the top of the leaderboard for much of the first 30 minutes of FP1 before Verstappen equipped softs and eventually set the fastest time of 1m 29.617s.

Perez was 0.438s behind his team mate in second place. The Mexican driver has a new control electronics, energy store and gearbox, but no penalty, this weekend. Alonso was another two tenths away in P3 for Aston Martin, with his team mate, Lance Stroll, fourth and just under a second off the pace.

Saudi Arabia GP LIVE: Max Verstappen SET to DOMINATE FP3 & Qualifying Session at Saudi GP, Fernando Alonso EYE to continue Good Form – Follow F1 2023 LIVE Updates

Mercedes were next on the board with George Russell fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth, both just over 1.1s off the pace. Friday marks 10 years since Hamilton made his Mercedes debut; here he remarked he was “struggling for grip” as he rounded the track on softs.

Carlos Sainz, who has a new internal combustion engine for the race, but no penalty, finished seventh ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Charles Leclerc finished 11th in the other Ferrari.

Leclerc, who retired from the season opener, has a 10-place grid penalty in Saudi Arabia, having exceeded his allocation of control electronics. He will also have a new ICE and MGU-H for the Grand Prix.

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In ninth was Alex Albon for Williams, while Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10 for AlphaTauri. Esteban Ocon took P12 for Alpine ahead of Nyck de Vries in P13, while Oscar Piastri finished 14th for McLaren. Haas were 15th and 16th with Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Kevin Magnussen, while Logan Sargeant was 17th for Williams.

Then sat Alfa Romeo with Valtteri Bottas 18th – 10 years after making his F1 Grand Prix debut – and Zhou Guanyu 19th.

Lando Norris was 20th on the board for McLaren. This weekend, Norris has a new exhaust, MGU-H, MGU-K turbocharger and internal combustion engine but no penalties as he has not exceeded any allocations.