Max Verstappen took the pole position for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah on Saturday, continuing his remarkable start to the season. The Red Bull driver set a blistering time of 1:24.387 in Q3, beating his nearest rival Sergio Perez by over three-tenths of a second.
Verstappen was the quickest driver in all three qualifying sessions, demonstrating his dominant form on the challenging street circuit. The Dutchman also set a new track record, surpassing the time he set when he won the inaugural race at the venue in 2022.
His Red Bull teammate, Perez, secured a front-row lockout for the team, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was hit with a ten-place grid penalty for taking new engine parts after his retirement in Bahrain, secured third place on the grid.
Lando Norris secured third place on the grid following Leclerc's penalty, after producing another impressive performance for McLaren. The Briton will be looking to maintain his strong start to the season, having finished fifth in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton will begin from fourth place on the grid, as he and his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, struggled to match the pace of the Red Bulls and Ferraris. Bottas will drop to ninth place after receiving a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox after crashing in FP3.
Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Lance Stroll secured fifth, sixth, and seventh places, respectively, with Pierre Gasly, Bottas, and George Russell rounding out the top ten.
However, there were a few surprises and disappointments in qualifying, with Carlos Sainz Jr. unable to replicate his podium finish from Bahrain, qualifying in 14th place. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda will start last on the grid after receiving a ten-place grid penalty for taking new engine parts, following an oil leak in FP2.
Haas' Mick Schumacher received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Esteban Ocon during qualifying, dropping him to last place. However, he did apologise to the Alpine driver for his mistake.
The stage is now set for a thrilling race on Sunday, with Verstappen looking to consolidate his early season lead, and his rivals hoping to close the gap on the talented Dutchman.