F1 Results Today: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying times - Hamilton MILES off pace as Verstappen takes pole

Max Verstappen dominated the field once again to take pole for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by more than three tenths of a second, and will once again start alongside Charles Leclerc.

Oliver Bearman made it through his first part of a Formula 1 qualifying session, driving in relief of Carlos Sainz - absent for the rest of the weekend after an emergency appendectomy.

However, Bearman was knocked out in Q2 by just 0.036 seconds, coming within a whisker of knocking out seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton - who was nearly a full second behind Verstappen in Q3, putting his Mercedes just eighth once again.

Sergio Perez was third in front of Fernando Alonso who performed an experienced trick to drag the Aston Martin to fourth.

Nico Hulkenberg brought out the second red flag of the day in Q2 for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, being forced to park his car in a run-off area losing power while he was on a run.

Zhou Guanyu was knocked out without setting a lap time thanks to a heavy crash at the end of FP3, the damage more than his mechanics could repair in the time given to them - missing out on a hot lap by a matter of seconds.

READ MORE: F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weather forecast - Wind could trouble drivers in hot and sticky conditions

F1 Qualifying Results: Bahrain Grand Prix 2024

1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - 1:27.472

2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.319s

3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull] - +0.335s

4. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - +0.374s

5. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +0.617s

6. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.660s

7. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.844s

8. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +0.988s

9. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB] - +1.075s

10. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - +1.100s

ELIMINATED IN Q2

11. Oliver Bearman [Ferrari]

12. Alex Albon [Williams]

13. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

14. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

15. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

ELIMINATED IN Q1

16. Valtteri Bottas [Kick Sauber]

17. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

18. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

19. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

20. Zhou Guanyu [Kick Sauber]

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The 60-minute qualifying session is split into three finite windows which provides a dramatic prelude to Sunday's big race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

READ MORE: F1 Schedule 2024: Full calendar with all you need to know about every grand prix

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