2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying: Winners and Losers

The 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying saw Max Verstappen fend off Charles Leclerc ironically by the same advantage that he had in Bahrain. The Dutch driver felt comfortable driving the Red Bull from the very first lap he did on Thursday and was in supreme form throughout qualifying.

He was accompanied by Charles Leclerc in P2 who redeemed himself after a compromised first run in Q3. Sergio Perez was once again around 3-4 tenths behind his teammate but will start the race in P3. The Mexican will be accompanied by Fernando Alonso in P4, whose Aston Martin looked quite impressive throughout the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP weekend over a single lap.

With the second qualifying session done and dusted, who would be satisfied with how the qualifying went, and who would be a bit disappointed? Let's take a look.

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2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying

Winner

Max Verstappen

There's no doubt about the fact that Red Bull is caught in a political storm at the moment, and the team has been getting by somehow. Max Verstappen, however, knows how to keep his focus on the track, and that admirable skill helped him secure his second pole of the season.

With the way the situation is unfolding at Red Bull, it is impressive to see how Verstappen has continued to perform on the track and not let his performance drop.

Loser

Daniel Ricciardo

If Daniel Ricciardo continues to perform at the level that he had at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying, he's not only going to lose any chance of replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull, he's losing his seat at RB as well. The Australian has been a bit disappointing in the first two races, and the magic that he showed in Mexico is missing.

It will be interesting to see what the Australian does in the future, as the situation at present does not look good.

Winner

Ollie Bearman

Ollie Bearman will be an F1 driver in the future. There's no doubt about it. The youngster has already shown plenty in Formula 2 but even the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP has been a good outing for him.

He's not looking out of place on the track. He's found a decent groove as well. Bearman will be starting the race in P11 and that is a decent starting point to maybe score a few points as well.

Overall, this could have been a weekend where he looked completely out of place. That has not happened as he has impressed everyone.

Loser

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton does not think he's lost a stride and he's venturing into a brand new partnership at Ferrari in 2025 where he aspires to win a title. There is however one problem. The problem is that even if he has a competitive car, he has to beat his teammate.

Looking at the struggles that Hamilton faces in Mercedes against George Russell and the fact that these struggles in qualifying go back to last season, there are a few concerns. Is everything fine with the driver or is age starting to catch up? The 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP raises more questions than answers for him.

Winner

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull continues to line up drivers, and Yuki Tsunoda continues to beat them. He did very well against Nyck de Vries. Contrary to popular opinion, Tsunoda didn't have much of a clean run when Liam Lawson was around, and now when he has Daniel Ricciardo in the other car, he has been brilliant again.

While a move to Red Bull is highly unlikely, this does put him in good stead in the driver market.

Loser

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkeneberg's frustration was evident when his power unit gave out in Q2 and he had to re-enact Fernando Alonso's iconic moment of just sitting in a deck chair and watching the proceedings. Away from the gaze of everyone else, the German is fighting for his future in F1. Audi has announced a complete takeover and that would mean a possible look at a German driver.

After a wasted weekend in Bahrain where one mistake compromised everything, Hulkenberg would have been hoping for something better at the 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. He might have to make up places in the race as he lines up in P15.