P1racenews AI automatic summary:
F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to pole
Verstappen set the fastest time in Q3 with 1m27.472s on his first run, which was the time to beat as he didn’t improve on his second attempt. Leclerc initially trailed by 0.8s but narrowed the gap to Verstappen to 0.319s on his second run. Perez couldn’t better his first lap, finishing behind Leclerc. Alonso, Piastri, and the two Mercedes drivers followed closely. Russell outpaced Hamilton despite a mistake, with Tsunoda and Stroll completing the top 10. Hulkenberg’s car issues in Q2 led to a red flag, ultimately knocking out Bearman, Albon, Magnussen, and Ricciardo. Bottas, Ocon, and Gasly also faced early elimination in Q1 due to traffic, with Sargeant and Zhou ending up at the back. Zhou’s FP3 crash limited his qualifying performance, resulting in a last-place start. Bearman faces investigation for failing to adhere to qualifying rules.
