Red Bull remain on course to continue their dominant start to the F1 season after Sergio Perez secured pole for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian GP.
Clocking the fastest time in Q3, the Mexican was just over one-and-a-half-tenths ahead of the chasing pack.
Perez’ chances of winning in Jeddah for the a second year running look good, at 11/10 with William Hill.
Alonso poised to end drought?
He will be joined on the front row for Sunday’s night race by Fernando Alonso.
Alonso has had the fastest pace at times this weekend and in P2 at lights out, will be champing at the bit.
The Spaniard has good memories of night races with victory way back in the 2008 Singapore GP.
A full 10 years since his last win, the two-time former world champ has every chance of ending the drought.
With Lance Stroll starting P5 on the grid also, Aston Martin are well set to mix things up.
Jeddah has thrown up the unpredictable before and 5/1 as the winning team with Betfred, the British outfit look a good price.
Verstappen looks Jeddah podium value
After the perfect start to the season in Bahrain, Max Verstappen has his work cut out to record back-to-back wins.
The dominant force for most of the weekend prior, an unexpected driveshaft problem saw the Dutchman fail to progress from Q2.
Fifteenth will be Verstappen’s perch on Sunday in Jeddah, however a charge will be expected.
Could Verstappen put on a Lewis Hamilton-esque run to victory?
A price of 11/8 with BetVictor could be his longest odds this term for a win.
Leclerc could surge
The situation is similar for Charles Leclerc, with the Ferrari driver starting 12th on the grid.
Despite clocking the second-fastest time in quali, Leclerc incurs a 10-place demotion for an engine penalty.
As the battle rages at the head of the pack, it will be fascinating to watch the clash with Verstappen in midfield.
Like with Verstappen, though winning looks a stretch, a podium finish is still within reach at 2/1 with PariMatch.
