Live: F1 Saudi Arabian GP updates – Qualifying
Live updates from the Saudi Arabian GP qualifying session at Jeddah.
By: Jake Boxall-Legge, James Newbold
Summary
Leaderboard 1. Perez, Red Bull 2. Leclerc, Ferrari 3. Sainz, Ferrari 4. Verstappen, Red Bull 5. Ocon, Alpine 6. Russell, Mercedes 7. Alonso, Alpine 8. Bottas, Alfa Romeo 9. Gasly, AlphaTauri 10. Magnussen, Haas |
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Summary
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Status: Stopped
And that's all from us! We'll be back tomorrow for the race, so we hope you'll join us then - enjoy the rest of your day!
Sainz: "The lap for P3 was pretty good, it was on the used tyre because for some reason the used tyre feels better for me."
Leclerc: "The lap felt good, honestly, I'm very happy with the lap. I more or less put everything together, a few bits here or there, but I didn't expect Checo to come in with that lap!"
Verstappen is fourth from Ocon, with Russell, Alonso, Bottas, Gasly and Magnussen completing the top 10. Great save from Ocon, who lost control and just managed to keep the car out of the wall.
Perez was behind with maybe three microsectors left on the timing board - but he's overturned Leclerc's time and it's pole for Perez! Leclerc and Sainz just miss out.
Leclerc's spooled up for his next push lap to try and take pole away from Sainz - what can he do? Can Red Bull mount a late charge? We'll find out very shortly...
It's Sainz, Leclerc, Perez, Ocon, Russell, Bottas, Alonso, Verstappen, Gasly and Magnussen at the moment. Last orders, chaps.
Russell gets up to fifth, nestling between the two Alpines. Bottas is on another run, and moves up to sixth place in the meantime.
"I have zero grip on this f***ing tyre," Verstappen says, really struggling to thread his Red Bull through the first brace of corners.
It's only sixth for Verstappen after that first proper lap! He's shipped fourth tenths by the end of the second sector, and another four tenths in the final sector.
Ocon goes P3 ahead of Alonso, from Gasly and Magnussen. But Perez, after a second build lap, leapfrogs the Alpine driver to go up to third.
And there's the green light - Q3 is now under way. Leclerc and Verstappen, ominously, are first to hit the road.
Sainz fires up to first, posting a 1m28.686s! Bottas stays sixth, Magnussen goes up to seventh, as Gasly jumps out of the drop zone to push the out-of-action Schumacher out of the top 10.
Norris remains P8 after his lap, while Stroll improves but remains 14th. Alonso also cements fifth and Russell stays seventh, improving on his time.
It appears that the drivers are having to go for a second prep lap to get temperatures up, with Magnussen backing out of his first stab at a lap.
The session resumes for the remainder of Q2, Magnussen and Leclerc first out onto the road after almost an hour's delay.
A replay showed a very clear interface between one of Schumacher's dislodged wheels and the halo on his Haas. Replays show Bottas slowing down to check if the German driver was okay.
Statement from the FIA: "Assessment at the Medical Centre revealed no injuries, and [Schumacher] has been transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, for precautionary checks."
It appears our Twitter updates are back in service - so apologies for any missed posts. Hopefully we're good to go for...whatever happens in the next few minutes.
FIA race director Niels Wittich has been inspecting Turns 9 to 12, but seems unhappy with the clean-up of oil at the moment.
Update from Haas: "Can confirm Mick appears physically fine - he has spoken to his mom etc. Likely being taken to hospital for a scan as a precaution but awaiting FIA update on that. So expect something via them by way of next update."
The FIA is currently inspecting the circuit, following the clean-up operation. I'd say "hopefully we get going soon" but it's one of those days where you just want it to be over.
First of all, we hope Mick's okay after a horrible crash. He's currently being looked over in the medical centre.
Currently, we're on hold as there's been repairs to the wall - the dust on track to soak up any oil/fluid is currently being swept away.
It's at times like this where you have to question the thinking behind developing a circuit like this. Injuries to F2 drivers both last year and this year, and now Schumacher's crash.
The marshals are clearing up the car, which is proving to be a messy job as the car's broken in two - as the gearbox comes away.
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