Sergio Perez Leads the Way in Saudi Arabia, Fernando Alonso Starts From P2

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has only been around for a few years now, having started back in 2021. There has been plenty of talk about sports-washing and security aspects related to this event, but we won't talk about that today. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is 3.836 miles (6.174 km) long and quite tricky to tackle at full throttle.

Five drivers retired from the race in 2021, and that number rose to six in 2022. Collision damage or technical issues are not uncommon at all here, but racing in F1 was never going to be easy anyway. Lewis Hamilton was still going strong in 2021, and he was the poleman for the race in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, he won the main event, with Max Verstappen crossing the finish line in P2 some 21.8 seconds later.

But he wouldn't even make it past Q1 in 2022 when Sergio Perez was the fastest driver in qualifying. The Mexican star would have to settle for P4 on Sunday, with both Ferrari drivers being faster than him overall. Still, it was Max Verstappen who took top honors that weekend, foreseeing a series of spectacular results throughout the season.

Free Practice

So it came as no surprise that the young Dutch driver left his mark on FP1 on Friday, as he was the only driver to dip below the 1:30 mark for that session. Sergio Perez was just 0.483 seconds behind, but the real shock was seeing both the Aston Martin drivers in P3 and P4. We've all seen how committed Fernando Alonso was at Round 1 in Bahrain, and it turns out his performance there was by no means an accident.

Meanwhile, both Ferrari drivers were slower than George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who had claimed P5 and P6 in FP1. With Carlos Sainz down in seventh, Charles Leclerc had to settle for P11, which would only put more pressure on the 2022 vice-champion. The Italian squad has had a rough start to the season with several mechanical problems, and that can only widen the gap to Red Bull Racing.

Max Verstappen continued his Free Practice domination in FP2, but this time it was Fernando Alonso who posed the biggest threat to him. Both of them and Sergio Perez ran fast laps of under one minute and 30 seconds, and it was Esteban Ocon who finished P4 overall. His new teammate, Piere Gasly, wasn't far behind but still slightly slower than George Russell.

Both Ferrari drivers made it into the Top 10 this time, but their fast laps were slower than those of Lance Stroll and Niko Hulkenberg, respectively. With Lewis Hamilton down in P11, it was equally as shocking to see Valtteri Bottas in P20. Just think about it, he was on the podium for the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix back in 2021!

FP3 felt like a reiteration of FP1, at least from the Top 4 drivers' points of view. Still, Max Verstappen was the only one to dip below the 1:29 mark, while a total of 14 other drivers were less than 1.5 seconds slower. While some of Hamilton's fans are sad to see that Angela Cullen will no longer be working with the seven-time World Champion, they were happy to see that he was at least faster than Leclerc in FP3. George Russell was further down the line, and even McLaren's Oscar Piastri was faster than him.

Qualifying

But let's move on to the second most exciting moment of any race weekend: qualifying! It all went down after drivers had completed FP3, and the outcome was not exactly what we expected. It all felt like deja vu for a few minutes, as Verstappen was the fastest man in Q1 with a time of 1:28.761.

Sergio Perez was 0.483 seconds behind in P2, with Alonso and Stroll taking P3 and P4. Ferrari showed promise with Leclerc in fifth and Sainz in sixth overall. Regardless of how upset Mick Schumacher's fans were about the decision Haas made last year, it seems to have sort of paid off for the American team.

Hulkenberg was seventh fastest in Q1, ahead of both Russell and Hamilton. Magnussen managed to escape elimination for the time being, while everyone was impressed by Oscar Piastri's rhythm. Shockingly enough, Lando Norris did not advance to Q2. And the same happened to both Alpha Tauri and Williams drivers.

The unexpected happened in Q2 as Max Verstappen faced a mechanical issue with his RB19 race car. As a result, he had to go back to the pits before the session had even ended. So Sergio Perez knew that this was his moment to shine once again. And by the end of Q2, he was the fastest driver on track, at a pace of 1:28.635 seconds per lap.

Meanwhile, a lot of people were rooting for Fernando Alonso, as it feels that he has a genuine chance of making this season a lot more exciting. The Spaniard was ultimately 0.122 seconds slower than Checo, but still faster than both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

One thing's for sure, Aston Martin is on a roll this year, as even Lance Stroll managed to get up to P5, with Russell, Ocon, and Hamilton breathing down his neck. Oscar Piastri is shaping up to be a strong competitor as advertised by many, taking P9 in the second qualifying session. With Gasly down in P10, both Alfa Romeo and Haas were out of the game.

Sergio Perez sealed the deal early on in Q3, after setting a fast lap of 1:28.265. Regardless of how hard everyone else tried to outrun him, he ended up taking Pole Position in Jeddah for the second time in his career. For a moment, Alonso was the second-fastest driver in Q3 at least until Charles Leclerc stormed into P2.

George Russell was once again faster than his teammate, as Mercedes claimed P4 and P8 in the third qualifying session of the day. Sainz was P5 overall, and Stroll was just inches away in P6, with Esteban Ocon down in P7. While Gasly was the slowest driver to tackle Q3, Oscar Piastri once again showed great promise as he was just 0.020 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton.

Race Prediction

As Charles Leclerc was penalized 10 grid places for the changes done to his car, Fernando Alonso will be starting the second GP of the year from P2, with George Russell and Carlos Sainz right behind him. Sergio Perez won't have an easy time trying to defend his position, but Max Verstappen has got an even bigger mountain to climb for the main event.

Still, we have all seen him performing apparent miracles advancing from the rear of the squadron up to the podium. I think that most people are excited to see if Fernando Alonso will be able to score his 100th career podium this weekend, or perhaps even a win after so many years of being denied that result. One thing is certain, it doesn't feel like either Mercedes or Ferrari can pose a real threat to Red Bull Racing or Aston Martin this weekend.

If we're wrong, that's going to be a pleasant surprise, but we are almost willing to bet that both Max and Checo will be on the podium alongside Alonso by the end of the day. We will get back to you with more information about the race soon!