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Motorsport
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Rachit Thukral

F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying – Start time, how to watch, channel

Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped both practice sessions on Friday, leading Alpine's Fernando Alonso by two tenths of a second in FP2.

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez finished a tenth adrift in third, while Esteban Ocon was a strong fourth for Alpine.

George Russell ended up fifth-fastest for Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz was classified a distant seventh in the best of the Ferraris.

What time does qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix start?

Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP will begin at 8pm local time (+3 GMT) at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

  • Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
  • Start time: 20:00 local time / 17:00 GMT / 18:00 CET / 19:00 SAST / 20:00 EAT / 13:00 ET / 10:00 PT / 04:00 AEST (Sunday) / 02:00 JST (Sunday) / 22:30 IST

Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.

2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix session timings in different timezones

Session

GMT

CET

ET

PT

AEDT

JST

IST

FP1

13:30

14:30

09:30

06:30

00:30¹

22:30

19:00

FP2

17:00

18:00

13:00

10:00

04:00¹

02:00¹

22:30

FP3

13:30

14:30

09:30

06:30

00:30¹

22:30

19:00

Q

17:00

18:00

13:00

10:00

04:00¹

02:00¹

22:30

Race 

17:00

18:00

13:00

10:00

04:00¹

02:00¹

22:30

How can I watch qualifying?

Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world. 

Europe

  • Austria - Servus TV / ORF
  • Belgium - RTBF / Telenet / Play Sports
  • Croatia - Sport Klub
  • Czech Republic - AMC
  • Denmark - TV3+ / TV3 Sport / Viaplay
  • Finland - Viaplay / V sport + / V sport 1
  • France - Canal+
  • Germany - Sky 
  • Greece - ANT1 / ANT1+
  • Hungary - M4
  • Italy - Sky
  • Netherlands - Viaplay / Viaplay Xtra
  • Norway - V sport 1 / V sport + / Viaplay
  • Poland - Viaplay
  • Portugal - Sport TV
  • Spain - F1 DAZN
  • Sweden - Viaplay / V sport motor / TV 10
  • Switzerland - SRF / RSI / RTS
  • UK - Sky Sports F1

Americas

  • USA - ESPN
  • Canada - RDS / RDS2 / TSN / Noovo
  • Latin America - ESPN

Asia

  • China - CCTV/ Great Sports TV / Guangdong Television Channel
  • India - F1 TV only
  • Japan - Fuji TV / DAZN
  • Malaysia - beIN SPORTS
  • Indonesia- beIN SPORTS
  • Singapore - beIN SPORTS
  • Thailand - beIN SPORTS
  • Turkey - S Sport / S Sport Plus
  • Vietnam - K+

Oceania

  • Australia - Fox Sports / Foxtel / Kayo
  • New Zealand - Sky

Africa

  • Africa - SuperSport

Can I stream qualifying?

Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. Some local broadcasters such as Sky TV (UK) and Movistar (Spain) also offer their own on-demand service. 

Live commentary

Motorsport.com will bring the latest updates from Jeddah throughout the weekend, including live commentary during qualifying on Saturday.

Saudi Arabian GP - FP1 results:

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'29.617  
2 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'30.100 0.483
3 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1'30.315 0.698
4 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'30.577 0.960
5 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'30.771 1.154
6 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'30.787 1.170
7 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'30.924 1.307
8 France Pierre Gasly Alpine 1'30.949 1.332
9 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'31.030 1.413
10 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'31.110 1.493
11 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'31.118 1.501
12 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'31.181 1.564
13 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1'31.450 1.833
14 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren 1'31.491 1.874
15 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1'31.552 1.935
16 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'31.566 1.949
17 United States Logan Sargeant Williams 1'31.922 2.305
18 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'31.970 2.353
19 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'31.986 2.369
20 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'32.149 2.532

Saudi Arabian GP - FP2 results:

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'29.603  
2 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1'29.811 0.208
3 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'29.902 0.299
4 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'30.039 0.436
5 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'30.070 0.467
6 France Pierre Gasly Alpine 1'30.100 0.497
7 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'30.110 0.507
8 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1'30.181 0.578
9 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'30.341 0.738
10 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'30.592 0.989
11 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'30.599 0.996
12 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'30.721 1.118
13 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'30.776 1.173
14 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'30.810 1.207
15 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'30.820 1.217
16 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'30.837 1.234
17 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1'30.921 1.318
18 United States Logan Sargeant Williams 1'30.959 1.356
19 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren 1'30.964 1.361
20 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'31.052 1.449

Saudi Arabian GP - FP3 results:

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'28.485  
2 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'29.098 0.613
3 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1'29.483 0.998
4 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'29.509 1.024
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'29.568 1.083
6 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'29.588 1.103
7 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'29.690 1.205
8 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren 1'29.698 1.213
9 France Pierre Gasly Alpine 1'29.701 1.216
10 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'29.761 1.276
11 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'29.811 1.326
12 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'29.917 1.432
13 Germany Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1'29.933 1.448
14 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'29.953 1.468
15 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'29.983 1.498
16 United States Logan Sargeant Williams 1'30.035 1.550
17 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'30.131 1.646
18 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'30.317 1.832
19 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'30.797 2.312
20 Netherlands Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri    
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