F1: Perez takes stunning first career pole in Saudi – Gulf Digital News

F1: Perez takes stunning first career pole in Saudi – Gulf Digital News

JEDDAH: Mexican Sergio Perez stormed to a stunning maiden pole position under the floodlights in a crash-interrupted qualifying session yesterday for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver left his best for last as he lapped the 6.1-km long Jeddah Corniche circuit on the banks of the Red Sea in one minute 28.200 seconds to deny Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz a Ferrari front-row lockout. World champion Max Verstappen was fourth.

“What a lap, unbelievable,” the 32-year-old Perez, who edged Leclerc by just 0.025 seconds, said after the session.

Yesterday’s session was halted by two red flags.

Mick Schumacher crashed heavily during the second phase of qualifying, bringing the session to a halt for nearly an hour as track workers repaired barriers and cleaned the track of debris and oil.

The German Haas driver was taken to an armed forces hospital in Jeddah for precautionary checks, the governing FIA said.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton made a shock early exit after failing to get past qualifying’s opening knockout phase. The Briton will line up 16th in his Mercedes for Sunday’s race.