IMAGO / Pro Shots
Sergio Pérez not only snagged his maiden pole position in a stop-and-go qualifying session, but he made Formula One history in the process.
The Red Bull driver pulled off a late shock in the final round of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, edging past Charles Leclerc by two-hundredths of a second. It was Pérez's 215th attempt at taking the pole, the longest in the sport's history.
He is the first Mexican driver in Formula One history to take the pole position. Ferrari's Leclerc and Carlos Sainz took P2 and P3, respectively, while Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen will be fourth.
“Whatever he had for lunch, breakfast and dinner last night—we're going to feed him the same tomorrow,” team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports in reaction to Pérez's pole.
Saturday's qualifying, a momentous one for the sport, came with disappointments as one driver ended up in the hospital “for precautionary checks.”
Mick Schumacher wrecked on Turn 12 during the second round of qualifying, and an ambulance rushed to the scene as the 23-year-old remained in the cockpit. Haas F1 tweeted that the driver was “conscious,” and he was carefully extracted from the vehicle. FIA confirmed no injuries were revealed at the medical center, and the team shared an update that Schumacher “is physically in a good condition but will be flown by helicopter to hospital for further precautionary check-ups.”
The team confirmed after qualifying that Schumacher will not participate in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton struggled to find pace in the car throughout the early stages of the evening in Jeddah, ending 16th after the first round of qualifying. He was eliminated, marking the first time he has failed to make the second round of qualifying since the Brazil Grand Prix in 2017.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is still set to go on as planned after a spokesperson for the Houthis rebels in Yemen, who receive military and financial support from Iran, claimed responsibility for the missile attack on an Aramco oil depot just miles from the street circuit Friday.
The Grand Prix Drivers' Association later released a statement, “Yesterday was a difficult day for Formula One and a stressful day for us Formula One drivers. Perhaps it is hard to comprehend if you have never driven an F1 car on this fast and challenging Jeddah track, but on seeing the smoke from the incident it was difficult to remain a fully focused race driver and erase natural human concerns.
"Consequently we went into long discussions between ourselves, with our team principals, and with the most senior people who run our sport. A large variety of opinions were shared and debated and, having listened not only to the Formula 1 powers but also to the Saudi government ministers who explained how security measures were being elevated to the maximum, the outcome was a resolution that we would practise and qualify today and race tomorrow.
"We therefore hope that the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be remembered as a good race rather than for the incident that took place yesterday".
