Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Perez makes history with "unbelievable" Saudi Arabian GP pole

Topher Smith Saturday 26 March 2022 19:37 Updated: 19:43

Perez makes history with "unbelievable" Saudi Arabian GP pole

Sergio Perez has made F1 history by becoming the first Mexican driver to take a pole position.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix marks Perez's 215th race and by ending his wait for a pole, the Mexican has broken Mark Webber's previous record off a 130-race wait.

Speaking after qualifying, Perez hailed his "unbelievable lap" but conceded he hadn't expected to have the pace to match Ferrari.

"It took me a couple of races though!" joked Perez.

"But what a lap, unbelievable. I could do a thousand laps and I don't think I'd beat that lap. It was unbelievable.

"We weren't really expecting too much against the Ferraris in qualifying. We were focusing mainly on the race, so hopefully we'll get them tomorrow."

Ferrari had looked set to take pole position in Jeddah after Charles Leclerc topped all three practice sessions before continuing his trend in Q1.

Q2 was headed by the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz following Mick Schumacher's violent shunt, but Perez stole the show with his final flying lap in Q3 to deny the Scuderia a second successive pole.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen couldn't match his Red Bull team-mate and will line up fourth.

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Perez makes history with "unbelievable" Saudi Arabian GP pole

Perez makes history with "unbelievable" Saudi Arabian GP pole