After a scary crash from Haas F1 driver Mick Schumacher and a 57 minute delay to qualifying, it looked like it was going to be a battle between the Red Bulls and Ferraris and it was.
With Lewis Hamilton struggling to get the balance in his car, the team were left with George Russell to challenge for Q3 but the stunning issue for Mercedes was, George was the only Mercedes-powered car in the top 10.
In the waning laps of Q3, it looked like it was going to be a Ferrari 1, 2 as Max Verstappen struggled to get the grip he needed but in the end, it was the Red Bull that snatched pole from Ferrari’s hands…except it wasn’t Max’s Red Bull, it was Sergio Perez’s Red Bull!
The first pole position for a Mexican driver in F1 history and his first-ever pole in F1, Perez pipped the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz leaving Max struggling in 4th. It was a stunning lap and it left Ferrari with open mouths.
Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Name | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1m29.705s | 1m28.924s | 1m28.2s |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m29.039s | 1m28.78s | 1m28.225s |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1m28.855s | 1m28.686s | 1m28.402s |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m28.928s | 1m28.945s | 1m28.461s |
| 5 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1m30.093s | 1m29.584s | 1m29.068s |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m29.68s | 1m29.618s | 1m29.104s |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1m29.978s | 1m29.295s | 1m29.147s |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m29.683s | 1m29.404s | 1m29.183s |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1m29.891s | 1m29.418s | 1m29.254s |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1m29.831s | 1m29.546s | 1m29.588s |
| 11 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m29.957s | 1m29.651s | |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1m30.009s | 1m29.773s | |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1m29.978s | 1m29.819s | |
| 14 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1m30.167s | 1m29.92s | |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m30.256s | 1m31.009s | |
| 16 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m30.343s | ||
| 17 | Alex Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1m30.492s | ||
| 18 | Nico Hülkenberg | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1m30.543s | ||
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1m31.817s | ||
| 20 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Red Bull |
You say it’s the first pole for a Mexican but what about Ricardo Rodriguez in 1969 for Ferrari in the Mexican Grand Prix? is that one not counted?
Wasn’t Jack Brabham the polesitter for that race?
Not according to Wikipedia. RR was only in F1 for two years, 1961-62.
Are you thinking of someone else?