The Latest Breaking News from Charles Leclerc

The Italian squad had hoped that the layout and different demands of the Jeddah circuit would allow it to pose a bigger threat to Red Bull than it was able to at F1’s season opener in Bahrain. 

The Spaniard finished some 36 seconds adrift of Red Bull victor Sergio Perez in Jeddah to clock sixth place, one spot ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc - who was recovering from a 10-place gird drop.

Sergio Pérez converted pole into victory in Jeddah as Max Verstappen raced up from 15th to second

Aston Martin was the surprise package of the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month, with Alonso taking a podium on his first race with the Silverstone team.

The runaway winner in Bahrain a fortnight previously had taken a clean sweep across the practice sessions, ending the three hours of running with a cumulative advantage of 1.3s.

In just his second career F1 start, the Australian will begin eighth in his McLaren, hoping to secure his first championship points.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez will line up on pole position after topping Saturday's qualifying session in Jeddah. He will be joined on the front row by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, with George Russell (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) next up in third and fourth position respectively.

Australian Formula One rookie Oscar Piastri has had his best day yet for McLaren, finishing ninth in qualifying for the Saudi Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri made it to Q3 and qualified ninth, but his much more experienced McLaren team-mate Norris will be much further back after a Saturday session to forget