Max Verstappen’s drive axle from Red Bull failed. He finished in 15th place. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 14th, losing to his Chinese teammate. Another Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez, drove to the pole in Saudi Arabia.
20:37•Updated 20:40
Listen to Urheilu’s podcast about the F1 season that has started. On the agenda, Mercedes’ “success hangover”, Aston Martin’s dizzying first season and Valtteri Bottas’ F1 future. Finnish F1 hope Tuukka Taponen is also in the vote.
Sergio Perez drove to the pole position in qualifying for the F1 race in Saudi Arabia. Pole position was the second of his career for the Mexican. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second, but falls back ten squares due to starting square penalties. Leclerc had to change more parts of the power unit than the rules allowed.
Aston Martin driving a dizzying early season Fernando Alonso will rise to the second starting grid and front row with Perez in Sunday’s race.
Red Bull dominated the early season Max Verstappen had to stop the time trial in the second section. The overwhelming champion favorite reports on the team radio about engine problems. Later, the team announced that the drive shaft was broken.
– This is really annoying. We had a good weekend. All sections went well, Verstappen recently told Sky Sports.
Verstappen admitted that despite Red Bull’s good pace, they will have a tough time in Sunday’s race. A race has been won from the 15th starting grid only once in F1 history: Fernando Alonso in Singapore in 2008.
– We have a good car, so of course we can move up on the leaderboard. Everything is possible on this track, but let’s stay a bit more realistic, said Verstappen.
Sergio Perez sympathized with his teammate after qualifying.
– It was a shame. Max has been really strong all weekend. As you know, these cars can have problems at any time, Perez said in the track interview.
Leclerc was in a mixed mood after his qualifying session.
– On the other hand, it has been a difficult weekend for us in terms of speed. I’m happy with my round. I did everything I could for it. However, Red Bull is from a different planet. Tomorrow will not be easy with the grid penalty, said Leclerc, who starts from the 12th grid.
Alonso is ready for surprises from the front row.
– Starting from the front row is incredible. We are confident. The car felt really strong. However, the car is the strongest in racing. So we should be better on Sunday than on Saturday, Alonso described.
Bottas confused, lost to his teammate
Valtteri Bottas had been at the bottom of the results list in Saudi Arabia’s training. In the time trials, however, he was the last to make it to the second section. However, Bottas did not reach the final section, but was 14th. Team mate Guanyu Zhou was 12th in qualifying and 0.207 seconds faster than Botta.
– This was probably my best part here. There’s just no speed. My round felt good at the end. Time just doesn’t seem like it. Even ahead of my teammate. It’s hard to say why, Bottas described to Viaplay.
– In terms of speed, we haven’t been where we should be. Downforce was dropped to get direct speed. In the bends, it’s time to get into the jacket. The car has too much air resistance. That’s probably the biggest thing.
Bottas rose from 12th on the grid to eighth in the opening race in Bahrain thanks to his great start. Bottas is not going to lower his goals for Sunday.
– The race is always a different thing. Last time we went outside from the points and got points. No need to give up. It is still possible to get points. That’s the goal, Bottas decided.
The Saudi Arabia competition starts on Sunday at 19:00.