Q1

Q1 in Saudi Arabia got off to a lively start, with plenty of drivers heading out straight away to lay down some early laps. Esteban Ocon was the first to get going, but it didn’t take long for the McLarens to take control. Lando Norris made the most of a big slipstream from Ocon down the main straight and shot to the top of the timesheets.

But it wasn’t a clean session across the board. Pierre Gasly had a bizarre moment in the pits when Alpine released him with a tyre blanket still attached to his front-right wheel.

Lewis Hamilton had a bit of a tough start and found himself all the way down in 18th at one point, but managed to claw his way back to 10th with a decent lap, still nearly eight-tenths off Norris, but enough to keep him safe.

The final minutes brought some proper tension. Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, Gasly, Ocon and Oliver Bearman were all sitting in the danger zone, needing to pull something out of the bag.

But things got messy right at the end when Bortoleto spun on his last run. Max Verstappen came flying through and had to take quick avoiding action. Thankfully, there was no contact, and Verstappen still managed to post a strong time.

In the end, Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Nico Hulkenberg, Ocon and Bortoleto didn’t make the cut and were out after Q1.

Q2

Q2 in Saudi Arabia kicked off in hectic fashion, with cars piling out of the pit lane in a rush to get some clean air. Kimi Antonelli had a close call right away, coming out just behind a McLaren and shouting over the radio, “Man, that was close!” Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was actually placed under investigation for an unsafe release.

Alex Albon was the first to post a time, but it didn’t take long for the front-runners to knock him down the order. Oscar Piastri was the first of the big names to hit the top of the timesheets, even after making a small mistake in the first sector. But he was quickly overtaken by Max Verstappen and then Lando Norris raised the bar even further with an even quicker lap, showing McLaren’s strong pace again.

Things went from bad to worse for Lawson when his flying lap was deleted with just five minutes to go, making his already difficult session even more of a challenge. Most of the drivers came back out in the final minutes for one last push, while Norris and Albon stayed put in the garage, confident enough with their earlier laps.

In the end, there were no big changes at the top, but the battle to get into Q3 was tense. Lewis Hamilton just managed to sneak through, edging out Alex Albon by a tiny margin. Q2 proved to be the end of the line for Lawson and his teammate Hadjar, as well as Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman.

Q3

Q3 delivered exactly the kind of drama and tension you’d expect from a fight for pole. Oscar Piastri was first to put a time on the board with a strong 1:27.560, but Lando Norris was right behind and looking to beat it. However, things took a sudden turn for the worse when Norris pushed just a bit too hard into Turn 4. The rear of his McLaren snapped away, and in an instant, he was in the barriers at Turn 5.

It was a tough blow for Norris, who had looked confident all weekend. Thankfully, he was unharmed and quick to let the team know over the radio, although he didn’t hold back, calling himself a “f***ing idiot.” The crash brought out a red flag and caused a ten-minute delay as marshals cleared the debris and the track was made safe again.

Once the session resumed, Verstappen wasted no time getting back out. Despite his tyres not being quite up to temperature, he put in a lap just one thousandth of a second quicker than Piastri’s earlier time, taking provisional pole.

As the final minutes ticked away, the action ramped up. George Russell stormed to the top with a 1:27.407, only for Piastri to respond moments later, finding a tenth to reclaim provisional pole. But Verstappen, always a threat in the final seconds, was still on a flyer. Nailing the final sector, he crossed the line with a stunning 1:27.294´ snatching pole by just one hundredth of a second from Piastri.

Russell’s impressive effort secured him third, with Leclerc alongside him in fourth. Kimi Antonelli took a solid fifth, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who delivered his best result yet for Williams in sixth. Hamilton ended the day seventh, followed by Tsunoda in eighth. Gasly and the unlucky Norris, who crashed out early, will line up ninth and tenth on the grid.