AS IT HAPPENED: Hamilton clinches pole position in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualification

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Updated 04 December 2021
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AS IT HAPPENED: Hamilton clinches pole position in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualification

JEDDAH: The second day of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix got underway on Saturday, with the drivers completing one final practice session on the Jeddah Corniche circuit ahead of qualifying/

Lewis Hamilton made history on Saturday by becoming the first driver to clinch a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pole position after he beat out teammate Valtteri Bottas and world championship title rival Max Verstappen.

Red Bull's Verstappen topped the final practice, ahead of world championship title rival Hamilton in second, with fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez finishing third.

The next fastest drivers were Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri in fourth and followed by teammate Pierre Gasly.

Mercedes driver Hamilton had dominated the first day of practice, finishing ahead of Verstappen in the first session and extending his lead over the rest of the pack, including teammate Valtteri Bottas in the second session.

See how Saturday's action unfolded below... (All times GMT)

18:00 - There it is! His 103rd pole position of his career, Lewis Hamilton takes the very first pole at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and will be in a prime position to take maximum points from Sunday's race.

17:45 - Q2 comes to a close, with Ricciardio, Raikkonen, Alonso, Russell and Carlos Sainz Jnr all being eliminated.

17:25 - It was a tough one for former world champion Sebastian Vettel as he fails to get out of Q1.

17:00 - The first qualifying session, involving all 20 drivers who will be trying to finish in the top 15 of the grid, is now ready to go...

15:05 - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finally broke Lewis Hamilton's practice dominance by setting the pace in final practice. The Dutchman was 0.214 seconds quicker than his title rival, who appeared to be struggling with his tyres - something the Mercedes team will want to address ahead of qualifying later.

Fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez finished third, and it was a fantastic session for the Alpha Tauri team as both their drivers - Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly - closed out the rest of the top five.

 

14:40 - Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was full of praise for the Jeddah Corniche circuit this weekend, admitting it was both unforgiving and dangerous, but also that it was a drivers’ circuit and one with plenty of opportunity. 

“In for a penny, in for a pound. This championship has had everything. This track is a real drivers’ circuit. It’s unforgiving, it’s fast, it’s dangerous, it’s going to bite if you make a mistake. How many safety cars are there going to be? Are there going to be VSCs. It can go both ways. It’s a race that has jeopardy and opportunity.”

14:20 - Lewis Hamilton has a small run-off in Sector One of the track after a front wheel lock-up, but the scare doesn't last long as he spins back into the action. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is running in sixth with with 1:29.8...work to do for the championship leader.

14:15 - In case you missed it earlier, the team behind the Grand Prix released footage of Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal getting behind the wheel of the famous Williams FW07 car from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Watch below...

14:00 - The third and final practice session of the weekend is now up and running. The drivers will have an hour to iron out any issues with their cars as well as gaining more experience of the brand new Jeddah Corniche circuit ahead of the qualifying session later this evening.

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ICYMI: Hamilton seals practice double, LeClerc crashes out on day one of historic Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Click here for more.


Al-Taawoun miss chance to go joint-top of SPL in narrow loss to Al-Ittihad

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Al-Taawoun miss chance to go joint-top of SPL in narrow loss to Al-Ittihad

  • Third win in as many games for Al-Ittihad as gap to leaders Al-Nassr narrows to eight points
  • Only Al-Taawoun’s second loss of the season, their first since their opening-day defeat to Al-Nassr

RIYADH: Sergio Conceicao’s tenure at Al-Ittihad may have found its true starting point. 

The defending champions edged this season’s surprise package Al-Taawoun 1-0 in a tense clash at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday to move up to fifth place on 23 points.

Before the Saudi Pro League went on hiatus for more than a month, Conceicao had just one league victory to his name. 

To say that start was rocky is an understatement, with defeats to Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli combined with draws against Al-Fayha and Al-Khaleej leaving his opening weeks far from convincing.

Since then, momentum has steadily built. 

Wins over Al-Shabab (2-0), NEOM (3-1) and now Al-Taawoun have signalled a clear upturn in form. The Tigers dominated large spells of the contest and, but for a stellar performance in goal by Mailson, could have won by a wider margin.

Breaking down Pericles Chamusca’s Al-Taawoun side was anything but straightforward. The opening 15 minutes saw Al-Ittihad repeatedly caught offside in their attempts to break through, before they began finding space in the box on multiple occasions.

Moussa Diaby found himself through on goal in the 18th minute, only for Mailson to deny him, reacting swiftly again to block Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti’s rebound effort. A minute later, Karim Benzema met the same fate as his header was also kept out by the Brazilian goalkeeper.

That pattern continued throughout the first half. 

Al-Ittihad overloaded the box in various ways to pull the Al-Taawoun defenders out of position, but the final touch remained elusive. Benzema attempted to unlock the defence with a clever through ball to Al-Shanqeeti, only for the pass to run beyond the full-back’s reach.

The breakthrough finally arrived early in the second half. Fabinho and Benzema combined just outside the final third before Diaby was released behind the defence, laying the ball off for the marauding Al-Shanqeeti to open the scoring in the 50th minute.

Al-Ittihad pushed for a second goal to put the game beyond doubt, but Mailson, alongside defenders Andrei Girotto and Moustapha Sémbène, stood firm to keep Al-Taawoun in the contest.

The hosts faced a late scare when Abdelfattah Adam headed in what appeared to be a late equaliser, only for a VAR check to identify a foul in the build-up, sending the home fans into rapture as Al-Ittihad saw out the win.

Elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Fateh claimed their third successive victory with a 2-0 win over nine-man Al-Shabab in front of a passionate home crowd. Meanwhile, Ben Harburg’s Al-Kholood returned to winning ways with a 5-0 drubbing of Al-Fayha in Al Majma’ah.

On Sunday, Al-Hazem look to extend their good form against NEOM at 6:05pm, while Al-Qadsiah host Al-Riyadh and Al-Hilal travel to Damac, with both fixtures kicking off at 8:30pm.