After a spectacular penultimate lap in qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Sergio Perez has won his first Formula One pole position.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull won his maiden Formula One pole position in Jeddah, setting a speed of 1:28.200 on his penultimate flying lap to beat Ferrari challenger Charles Leclerc by two hundredths of a second.
Perez’s feat was hailed with excitement by the audience in the grandstands, as his opponent drivers applauded him and clapped him on the shoulder as he competed in his 219th Grand Prix weekend after more than a decade in the sport.
“Well, it took me a couple of races!” Perez laughed as he spoke to media after the session.
Perez added that making up the time to defeat Leclerc in the closing sector of the lap was a one-of-a-kind attempt that he didn’t think he could repeat.
“But what a lap! Unbelievable!” he continued.
“I could do 1,000 laps and I don’t think I could beat that lap. It was unbelievable.”
Perez hoping to give Ferrari a headache
Perez took advantage of a low-key effort from squad member Max Verstappen to spearhead the Red Bull attack, given that the Scuderia seemed set for a front-row lock-out until the last moments of the practise.
As a consequence, he expects to be able to put up a fight with Leclerc and Sainz when the lights go out to start the race on Sunday afternoon, as he stated the team focused their set-up preparations on longer runs.
“We weren’t really expecting to match the Ferraris in qualifying,” he admitted.
“We were focusing mainly on the race, so hopefully we can do it again tomorrow!”
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