The checkered flag waves on qualifications a Jeddah who saw the pole position of Max Verstappen. Despite all the difficulties of the free tests, the Red Bull #1 takes home P1 and track record. Right behind him Oscar piastri e George Russell, while the world leader Lando Norris ends up in the wall in Q3. P4 and P7 for the Ferrari. Let's go see what happened in these official tests.
Max ahead of everyone in Q1, then McLaren. Ferrari struggling!
Q1 goes smoothly for the McLaren which only needs one shot to be completely calm about the passage. In P1 however there is no Papaya but Max Verstappen, which is just a few thousandths ahead of Norris. P4 for Kimi Antonelli, with Russell in P7. Excellent tsunoda in P5 and both Williams (P6 for Albon and P8 for Sainz). To find the first of the two Ferrari you have to go to P9 where we find Lewis Hamilton. The other Red instead finishes the first passage of the Jeddah qualifications in P13. Evident difficulty for the Maranello team which has not yet lit up in the Arabian night. It is worth noting the P11 di Bearman, with his partner in P19, and the double entry into Q2 for the Racing Bulls. Eliminated Stroll (who becomes the driver with the most eliminations in the history of F1 with 75), Doohan, Hulkenberg, Or with e Bortoleto.
Ferrari thrills in Q2, Papaya and Verstappen lead
Qualifying in Jeddah continues with Q2. The story seems to be the same, with the McLaren who only need a single shot to be virtually certain to qualify for the next cut. Among them, however, there is still Verstappen, which as usual manages to express much more than the machine could. Even his companion Yuki tsunoda passes the cut and will fight in Q3. What a thrill for the Ferrari, especially for Hamilton, which arrives in the last part of the official tests for only 7 thousandths on Albon. Thai is eliminated while Carlos Sainz it is in P8. In addition to Williams also eliminated Lawson e Hadjar, then Bearman e Fernando Alonso.
Norris hits the wall in his first attempt, pole goes to …
A time in the first attempt is recorded only by Oscar piastri in 1.27.560. A few seconds later, in fact, the race stewards display the Red flag. This is caused by the other McLaren of Lando Norris, which ends in the wall in curve 5. The car has a little “snap” at 4 and, ending up on the kerb, creates an uncontrollable pendulum effect for the driver. Everything stops at 8 minutes and 32 minutes to go of the Jeddah qualifications. When the track is clear, only the gasly, Sainz e Verstappen, with the latter mounting the new tire used for only 2 laps. The whole thing is very close to the limit to be able to make the second attempt. The stopwatch stops with a thousandth ahead of Piastri's time, but now it will be a race to fit the new tire. Meanwhile, everyone else goes out on the track; Max arrives at the pits, pit stops as if he were racing and is back on the track. The final blow is from heart-pounding. Before, George Russell (P3) prints a fantastic lap, later replicated by Piastres (P2) which lowers the Mercedes time by a tenth. But the pole is once again all of Super Max Verstappen, that for 10 thousandths conquers the first box number 42 of his career and the track record in 1.27.294. P4 for Charles Leclerc just 2 tenths from P1, while Hamilton ends in P7. Between them a Kimi Antonelli first time on the Arabian track and a sensational Sainz in P6. Closing the Top 10 tsunoda e gasly, with Norris in P10 after hitting the barriers.
