Formula One is back in Saudi Arabia after last season’s dramatic duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the high-speed Jeddah Corniche circuit.
In what was the penultimate race of the thrilling 2021 campaign, Hamilton leveled on points with Verstappen, but only after he accused his title rival of “testing the brakes” when they collided on track.
FOLLOW LIVE: All the F1 qualifying action for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
It also came after Verstappen crashed in qualifying as he approached pole position, so there will be plenty more twists and turns as Formula One returns to the fastest street circuit on the calendar.
Ferrari are the team to beat after last week’s sensational one-two at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and Mercedes will be looking to see an improvement in their performance after their early problems.
And Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was quickest in Friday’s first practice ahead of this weekend’s race. Here is everything you need to know.
What time is qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?
Qualifying is on Saturday March 26 from 14:00 GMT.
How can I see it?
Sky Sports will show all the action live in the UK, including the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports F1. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can get a NOWTV day pass here to watch without a subscription.
We may get commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. These revenues help fund journalism at The Independent.
What is the schedule for the Saudi Grand Prix weekend?
friday march 25
F1 drivers and media activity: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm GMT
Free Practice 1: 2-3pm
Free Practice 2: 5-6pm
saturday march 26
Teams press conference: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Free Practice 3: 2-3pm
Classification: 5-6pm
Sunday March 27
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: 6pm BST
Driver Ranking
1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 26 points
2) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 18
3) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 15
4) George Russell (Mercedes) – 12
5) Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 10
6) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – 8
7) Esteban Ocon (Aline) – 6
8) Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) – 4
9) Fernando Alonso (Alpine) – 2
10) Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) – 1