
Perez pipped championship leader Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr to take a long-awaited first F1 pole, after 214 previous starts with Sauber, McLaren, Force India and Racing Point.
The Mexican's breakthrough result in topping the top-10 Q3 shootout, came after seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first Q1 session for Mercedes.