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The 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying saw Max Verstappen secure his second pole position of the season. The Red Bull driver never appeared to be in any trouble from the start to the finish and ended up once again with a laptime that was around three-tenths of a second quicker than anyone else.
Verstappen will have Charles Leclerc for the company in the front row as the Ferrari driver looked spent after he saw the gulf between himself and the Dutch driver. In P3, we will have Max Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who put together a decent enough lap to pip Fernando Alonso in P4. As the season starts to pick up pace, what did we learn from the second qualifying session of the year? Let's take a look.
2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying: What did we learn?
#1 Max Verstappen is just too far ahead
The look on Charles Leclerc's face was one of desperation as he slowly realized that the gap with Max Verstappen on his Red Bull was nothing short of a mountain. The driver put everything into that lap and was still three-tenths off. What's worse is that qualifying is the part of the race weekend where he can compete with Verstappen to an extent.
In the long run, Verstappen is just on another level. It is a 24-race season, and Red Bull has tried everything within its power to implode. There is far too much going on in the background that could hamper the team in the long run. Leclerc would be hoping against hope that something derails Verstappen's campaign because the first two races have already given ominous signs.
#2 Lewis Hamilton is struggling in qualifying
Lewis Hamilton has not had a good time in Jeddah anyway in the last few years. Even though the last win of his F1 career was at the Saudi Arabian GP, the track has not been his favorite. Once again, he was a few tenths behind his teammate, George Russell, in qualifying.
The gap does look smaller in the final standings, but that is because Russell messed up his final lap. For Hamilton, qualifying has proven to be an Achilles heel in the last couple of seasons, and he might have to start looking for solutions.
#3 McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin are two steps behind Red Bull
Once the three teams truly unleash their cars, it becomes very clear that they are just a step behind the front two. Red Bull is at the front, with Ferrari a step behind. At this moment, it does appear that the three Mercedes-powered cars are two steps behind.
While the teams continue to put on a brave front, they have been basically reduced to midfield roles at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
#4 Daniel Ricciardo has lost the gold dust
The last couple of races are an alarming reminder that Daniel Ricciardo has seemingly lost the gold dust that made him great. He does not have the single-lap pace of even a Yuki Tsunoda at the moment and that has held true in the last couple of races. This has also held true in racecraft, as Ricciardo struggled to overtake Kevin Magnussen in Bahrain.
The 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP is a race that is starting to create a pattern for Ricciardo. A pattern where he's just a couple of tenths slower than his teammates almost all the time. Unless he has a swift turnaround, Ricciardo is not getting the seat at Red Bull and the squad might have to look elsewhere.
#5 Ollie Bearman is impressive, but what is his future?
The three words to describe Ollie Bearman's debut at Saudi Arabian GP have been, 'The kid's good'. The young driver is talented. He will in all likelihood get maybe another weekend in Australia as a replacement for Sainz. The question, though, for Bearman would be, what's next?
There's a high likelihood that the youngster would be looked at as someone who is ready for F1 and is destined for a seat on the grid beyond this Saudi Arabian GP stint. The unfortunate thing for Bearman is that even though he ends up proving himself in these two weekends, the Ferrari seats are locked for the next three years.
Lewis Hamilton joins the team next year, and he is on a 2+1 contract. Bearman should take the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP opportunity with both hands, but there is a question that Ferrari might need to answer. What's going to happen to Bearman's future?
