F1 Saudi Arabian GP qualifying - Start time, how to watch & more

Fresh from his victory in the 2022 F1 opener in Bahrain, the Ferrari driver topped FP2 by 0.140s from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but Leclerc saw his session ended prematurely after he sustained car damage in a hit with the wall.

Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr suffered a similar fate and also missed out on the final 20 minutes of the second practice session, meaning Ferrari has no long run data to learn from ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP.

But events on the track were overshadowed by a missile attack on an oil facility near the Jeddah circuit on Friday afternoon, when F1’s first practice session was midway through, and has prompted unease within the paddock.

F1 chiefs held meetings with the local authorities to get clarification of what happened at the Aramco facility and an update on what safety precautions had been put in place at the Jeddah Corniche circuit.

Following a preliminary meeting with drivers and team principals ahead of second free practice, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali hosted another meeting on Friday night alongside FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to update everyone on the situation.

The 40-minute meeting ended with agreement among the team principals that the race could go ahead, based on promises that F1 had been given about security in Jeddah.

Mohammed bin Sulayem, President, FIA, Stefano Domenicali, CEO, Formula 1, hold a Press Conference to confirm that the event will proceed as planned in the wake of a missile attack on Jeddah

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP starts at 8pm local time (5pm GMT), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 26th March 2022

Start time: 8pm local time - 5pm GMT

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