Behind Perez, it’s Leclerc second and Sainz third, with Verstappen only fourth in the other Red Bull.
Russell splits the Alpines of Ocon and Alonso in sixth, with the top 10 rounded off by Bottas, Gasly and Magnussen.
A reminder that Hamilton will start 16th after being eliminated in Q1 for the first time since 2017 earlier tonight.
Ricciardo is 12th for McLaren, but is still under investigation for that incident with Ocon.
There’s also the investigation for a potential unsafe release after the incident with Magnussen in the pit lane.
Perez finally ends long wait for pole
Incredibly, that is Sergio Perez’s maiden pole position of his 215-race F1 career.
Amazing stuff.
Perez snatches pole position
More Ferrari drama as Leclerc shades Sainz, who can’t top his team-mate and falls down to second!
But here comes Perez, who puts his Red Bull top by two-hundredths of a second!!!
Can Verstappen topple his team-mate?!
NO! IT’S ONLY FOURTH!
Checo on pole in Saudi Arabia! Wow.
Impressive from Bottas as he gets himself up to sixth, ahead of Alonso.
I think Verstappen and Perez have both briefly been back in the garage for Red Bull.
It’s a Ferrari front-row lockout at the moment…
“I can’t get any grip on these f*****g tyres” complains Verstappen.
He’s down in sixth at the moment.
It’s still Sainz, Leclerc and Perez in the top three, ahead of Ocon.
Russell has just split the two Alpines! He’s in fifth. A lovely lap.
Perez is looking good for Red Bull, but loses time in the final sector after running a bit wide and can only go third, 0.152secs behind Sainz.
Verstappen is four-hundredths of a second down in the first sector, looking to pick that up in the middle sector.
But’s he’s a long way off the pace at the moment, strangely.
Sainz is on provisional pole, clocking a lap time that is just four one-hundredths of a second quicker than team-mate Leclerc.
A fascinating Ferrari battle in Saudi Arabia.
Q3 underway
No time to waste now in Jeddah after the near hour delay to proceedings after Schumacher’s accident.
Q3 is off and running…
Sainz was fastest in Q2, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Leclerc.
Then comes the Red Bulls of Perez and Verstappen, with Alonso fifth-fastest for Alpine and Bottas sixth for Alfa Romeo.
Gasly was seventh-fastest, Magnussen eighth for Haas and the top 10 rounded off by Ocon and Russell.
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