Leclerc 'did not expect' thrilling Perez lap to claim pole
Leclerc 'did not expect' thrilling Perez lap to claim pole
Charles Leclerc has conceded that Sergio Perez's thrilling lap to take pole for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix took him by surprise.
Leclerc produced an excellent lap in Q3 to move ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz in the closing seconds of the session, only for Perez to go marginally quicker and deny Ferrari a one-two.
It was a session interrupted by a frightening crash involving Mick Schumacher in Q2, the Haas driver losing control at turn 12 and impacting the wall at 150mph.
Haas has since confirmed that Schumacher is conscious and has been transported to the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital.
But the session ended with on-track drama as Perez claimed his maiden pole position at the 215th attempt, and Leclerc said afterwards that he had been taken aback by the Mexican's pace.
"The lap felt good honestly, I am very happy, the full qualifying was about keeping it on track and not making any mistakes which would be very costly, and then in Q3 in the second lap I just went for it," explained Leclerc.
"I more or less put everything together, there's a bit here and there, but yeah, I definitely did not expect Checo to come with that lap time, so congratulations to him and I'm pretty sure he did an incredible job today.
"It's another day tomorrow, and hopefully we will have a good start."
Perez's team-mate Max Verstappen could only finish in fourth, while it was another tough weekend for Mercedes, with George Russell sixth, but Lewis Hamilton down in 16th after exiting in Q1 for the first time in five years.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
FIA stewards ROB Hamilton pole after bizarre U-turn
- 1 hour ago
F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 times as Verstappen stunned in rainy CHAOS
- 1 hour ago
Another bizarre fire STOPS action at Chinese Grand Prix
- 1 hour ago
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton and Ferrari chief had meals together years before 2025 signing
- 2 hours ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 2 hours ago
Young F1 star set to make McLaren debut in injury replacement
- 2 hours ago
Related news
Red Bull F1 stars offer contrasting F1 advice to next generation
F1 pundit details GLARING Mercedes issue
Bearman reveals F1 LEGEND 'message' sent to him before Ferrari debut
Hamilton hug with Bearman and Tsunoda BLANKS Sky presenter – FIVE things you may have missed at the Saudi Arabian GP
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860