JEDDAH — A mechanical failure put Formula 1 world champion Dutch Max Verstappen to start 15th on the grid, while causing him to exit early from the qualifying session. Verstappen achieved the fastest time in the first and second free practice sessions. The Red Bull team driver in the second section of the qualifying round faced a mechanical failure, as he slowed down when exiting Turn 10, thus, he will start on Sunday from the 15th place in the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023. His teammate Mexican Sergio Perez came first in the qualifying session, after achieving the best lap with a time of 1 minute, 28.265 seconds, thus booking the pole position in tomorrow's much-awaited race. He was followed by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who was 0.155s behind Perez, but unfortunately he will start from the 12 place in tomorrow's big race, after he received a 10-place grid penalty, due to exceeding the components of the electronic control unit in the energy assigned to him in his car. Spaniard Fernando Alonso, driver of the Aston Martin team, will start from second place in tomorrow's race, after he finished third in the qualifying session, 0.465 seconds behind. In the fourth and fifth place, George Russell, the Mercedes driver, managed to get the fourth place, followed by the Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., the Ferrari driver, who finished fifth in the qualifying session of the race. The rest of the results of the qualifying session were as follows: Lance Stroll of the Aston Martin team is 6th, followed by Esteban Ocon of the Alpine Team in 7th, then Lewis Hamilton of the Mercedes team ranked 8th, Oscar Piastri of the McLaren team ranked 9th, followed by Pierre Gasly of the Alpha Tauri team in 10th place, followed by Nico Hulkenberg of the Haas team in 11th place, then Zhou Guanyu of the Alfa Romeo team in 12th place, he was followed by Kevin Magnussen of the Haas team in 13th place. In addition, Valtteri Bottas of the Alfa Romeo team came in 14th place, followed by Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team in the 15th place, after that came Yuki Tsunoda of the Alpha Tauri team in the 16th place, Alexander Albon in the 17th place of the Williams team, after him in the 18th place came Nyck de Vries of the Alpha Tauri team, followed by Lando Norris of McLaren in the 19th place, while Logan Sargeant of the Williams team came in the 20th and last position. It is noteworthy that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, the fastest street circuit ever in Formula 1, will witness on Sunday, March 19, 2023, for the third time in a row, the 2023 Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This comes within the second round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, after it started in Bahrain.
