Where many had their eyes on Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez managed to surprise and set the fastest time during qualifying in Q3. It means the Mexican will start the race on pole position, while Leclerc and Carlos Sainz follow behind. Verstappen came no further than a fourth starting position.
The most notable driver of the day was Hamilton. Since the Briton was still able to get on the podium last week with an inferior car, hopes were high at Mercedes. However, Hamilton did not even manage to survive Q1 and would therefore start from P16, while his teammate George Russell is in sixth place. A heavy crash by Mick Schumacher caused Hamilton to move up a spot.
On Saturday evening there were rumors that Hamilton possibly wanted to start the race from the pit lane, to give himself the opportunity to change the set-up of his car. It seems that the driver of Mercedes will not do that after all.
Final starting grid Saudi Arabia Grand Prix 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.