Verstappen ahead of Leclerc before the qualifying in Jeddah

World champion Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the final practice session before qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The last preparatory session in Jeddah was marked by a severe crash involving Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou, who lost control of his car at turns 7 and 8.

The Chinese driver had just begun his qualifying simulation 17 minutes before the end of the session but spun the rear end of his car. He lightly hit one wall with his rear wing, followed by a more substantial impact with the TecPro barriers, requiring significant work by the Sauber mechanics before the later qualifying session today. After Zhou’s crash, the practice was halted for more than 10 minutes, mainly to repair the TecPro barriers damaged by the impact.

Upon the resumption of the session, all drivers except Logan Sargeant went out for quick qualifying simulations on soft tires. Sargeant’s decision to stay in his garage was due to his earlier contact with the concrete wall, necessitating a change of his front left suspension and costing him the entire session.

🚨 Top 3 Drivers in FP3

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Max Verstappen – 1:28.412
Charles Leclerc +0.196
Sergio Perez +0.494 pic.twitter.com/gMuSSSwu1c

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) March 8, 2024

In these qualifying simulations, Verstappen posted the fastest time of 1:28.412, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.196 seconds. The top three included last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez, who was 0.494 seconds slower than his teammate. The Mexican driver has secured pole position in Jeddah for the past two years.