Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Autosport
Autosport
Sport
Filip Cleeren

Perez hails "unbelievable lap" for ending long F1 pole wait

In a close-fought final Q3 shootout at the Jeddah Corniche street circuit, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr led the way after the first round of attempts before being demoted by team-mate Charles Leclerc, setting up a Ferrari front row for Sunday's race.

But Red Bull driver Perez surprised the Ferrari duo by dipping 0.025s below Leclerc's time with his final effort. With his team-mate Verstappen settling for fourth, 31-year-old Perez sealed his first F1 pole for what will be his 215th race start of a career that began in 2011.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.