AS IT HAPPENED: Hamilton clinches pole position in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualification

  • 12/4/2021
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JEDDAH: The second day of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix got underway on Saturday, with the drivers completing one final practice session on the Jeddah Corniche circuit ahead of qualifying/ Lewis Hamilton made history on Saturday by becoming the first driver to clinch a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pole position after he beat out teammate Valtteri Bottas and world championship title rival Max Verstappen. Red Bull"s Verstappen topped the final practice, ahead of world championship title rival Hamilton in second, with fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez finishing third. The next fastest drivers were Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri in fourth and followed by teammate Pierre Gasly. Mercedes driver Hamilton had dominated the first day of practice, finishing ahead of Verstappen in the first session and extending his lead over the rest of the pack, including teammate Valtteri Bottas in the second session. See how Saturday"s action unfolded below... (All times GMT) 18:00 - There it is! His 103rd pole position of his career, Lewis Hamilton takes the very first pole at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and will be in a prime position to take maximum points from Sunday"s race. 17:45 - Q2 comes to a close, with Ricciardio, Raikkonen, Alonso, Russell and Carlos Sainz Jnr all being eliminated. 17:25 - It was a tough one for former world champion Sebastian Vettel as he fails to get out of Q1. 17:00 - The first qualifying session, involving all 20 drivers who will be trying to finish in the top 15 of the grid, is now ready to go... 15:05 - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finally broke Lewis Hamilton"s practice dominance by setting the pace in final practice. The Dutchman was 0.214 seconds quicker than his title rival, who appeared to be struggling with his tyres - something the Mercedes team will want to address ahead of qualifying later. Fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez finished third, and it was a fantastic session for the Alpha Tauri team as both their drivers - Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly - closed out the rest of the top five. 14:40 - Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was full of praise for the Jeddah Corniche circuit this weekend, admitting it was both unforgiving and dangerous, but also that it was a drivers’ circuit and one with plenty of opportunity. “In for a penny, in for a pound. This championship has had everything. This track is a real drivers’ circuit. It’s unforgiving, it’s fast, it’s dangerous, it’s going to bite if you make a mistake. How many safety cars are there going to be? Are there going to be VSCs. It can go both ways. It’s a race that has jeopardy and opportunity.” 14:20 - Lewis Hamilton has a small run-off in Sector One of the track after a front wheel lock-up, but the scare doesn"t last long as he spins back into the action. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is running in sixth with with 1:29.8...work to do for the championship leader. 14:15 - In case you missed it earlier, the team behind the Grand Prix released footage of Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal getting behind the wheel of the famous Williams FW07 car from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Watch below... 14:00 - The third and final practice session of the weekend is now up and running. The drivers will have an hour to iron out any issues with their cars as well as gaining more experience of the brand new Jeddah Corniche circuit ahead of the qualifying session later this evening.

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