Oracle Red Bull Racing Saudi Arabian GP qualifying - Checo on pole! 18.03.2023: SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX Jeddah Corniche 17-19 March 2023 Saturday, March 18th 2023 I’m very happy to come away with pole! SERGIO PEREZ Position: 1, (Practice 3 – 1:29.098)

SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
Jeddah Corniche
17-19 March 2023
Saturday, March 18th 2023



    
I’m very happy to come away with pole!

SERGIO PEREZ
Position: 1, (Practice 3 – 1:29.098)


"I certainly enjoy the track here in Jeddah. The car came alive at high speeds and I was able to push right to the limit to secure pole position. That said, it has been tricky today.


You can lose two tenths through the early section of corners if you’re not careful, especially with the low downforce that we’re running, so I’m very happy to come away with pole. It will be very interesting to see what happens in the race tomorrow, especially with some of the other cars running high downforce.


As we saw last year, anything can happen. We have a good race car and showed strong race pace on Friday, so let’s hope Max can also push up the grid and together, we can aim for maximum points for the Team.”

 




We now have a bit more work ahead of us tomorrow but it is what it is, it is a long Championship and we will stay positive.



MAX VERSTAPPEN
Position: 2, (Practice 3 – 1:28.485)


“The driveshaft broke out of turn 10 on the right rear so that was it for qualifying. It happened really out of the blue, we hadn’t had any issues before that. It was annoying because the car was good up until then, I was comfortable in every session and every time I was on the track, I was quick, so for sure we could have fought for pole. I


nstead, we now have a bit more work ahead of us tomorrow but it is what it is, it is a long Championship and we will stay positive. I think a win is tricky from that position but I will try to score as many points as possible. It will be hard to get to the front, but we won’t give up.



Anything is possible at this track, we have seen some crazy things here, but we have to be realistic. It will be tough but we have good pace so, for sure, we will move forward.”




CHRISTIAN HORNER


A brilliant performance from Checo. He drove incredibly well and put down a fantastic lap which sees him on pole
“A tale of two qualifying sessions out there today. Firstly, a brilliant performance from Checo. He drove incredibly well and put down a fantastic lap which sees him on pole; his second pole here in Jeddah, back to back.


On the other hand, its hugely frustrating for Max, a drive shaft failure knocked him out of qualifying when we were really just getting started in Q2. His lap in Q1 would have put him in P4 for the race tomorrow. It is a real shame, but we are already in the process of understanding the issue.



Max has a mountain to climb from 15th, but knowing Max, he will rise to the challenge and it will certainly be interesting to see what he achieves. For Checo, its about sticking with the strategy, staying out of trouble and surviving those early lap. Plenty of action to come and plenty to look forward to.”






Paul Smith-, photos Red Bull