F1 Saudi Arabia GP 2024 LIVE: Race updates, schedule and times ...

(All times GMT)

Saturday 9 March

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of the race starts at 3:30pm.

Highlights of the race in the UK will be aired on free-to-air Channel 4 at 9:30pm (GMT) on Saturday.

Max Verstappen has sensationally threatened to quit Red Bull if Helmut Marko – who is at risk of suspension – is forced out of the team.

In another twist to the saga engulfing F1’s most dominant team, long-term motorsport adviser Marko could be suspended, according to reports.

Red Bull are undertaking a new investigation surrounding the various media leaks in the last month or so, including the leak of WhatsApp messages allegedly between Christian Horner and his female colleague, some of a sexually suggestive nature.

The BBC goes further, saying that Red Bull do indeed intend to suspend the 80-year-old, who is a close ally of Max and his father Jos.

And three-time world champion Verstappen, mere minutes after taking pole in Saudi Arabia, insisted his future at the team could depend on Marko’s position.

1. Max Verstappen

2. Charles Leclerc

3. Sergio Perez

4. Fernando Alonso

5. Oscar Piastri

6. Lando Norris

7. George Russell

8. Lewis Hamilton

9. Yuki Tsunoda

10. Lance Stroll

11. Ollie Bearman

12. Alex Albon

13. Kevin Magnussen

14. Daniel Ricciardo

15. Nico Hulkenberg

16. Valtteri Bottas

17. Esteban Ocon

18. Pierre Gasly

19. Logan Sargeant

20. Zhou Guanyu

F1 TV presenter Laura Winter produced a moving piece to camera in Saudi Arabia on International Women’s Day – admitting it has not been easy being a woman working in the sport in light of recent events.

The complainant still has the right to appeal the outcome of Red Bull’s internal investigation, which cleared Horner of any wrongdoing.

But after what has been a difficult month, with the role of women in Formula 1 brought back into the limelight, Winter sent a defiant message to those working in the sport and female fans, insisting: “We are here to stay and we are right where we belong.”

In the never-ending topsy-turvy circus of Formula One, it’s wise to expect the unexpected.

Yet these latest shenanigans regarding Christian Horner, Max Verstappen and Red Bull – and the potential fallout and consequences of internal politics within the team – would be monumentally seismic for the sport.

The controversy surrounding Horner doesn’t seem to have concluded just yet. The latest is that Horner met with Verstappen’s manager in Dubai on Monday, to de-escalate tensions within the team after Verstappen’s father Jos implied that Horner’s position as team principal was untenable.

But where are we heading in this matter? What could the potential fallout be? And could Red Bull be in danger of losing their star driver to their biggest rivals?

The Independent gives the low-down on all matters Verstappen, Red Bull and Horner:

1. Max Verstappen - 26 points

2. Sergio Perez - 18 points

3. Carlos Sainz - 15 points

4. Charles Leclerc - 12 points

5. George Russell - 10 points

6. Lando Norris - 8 points

7. Lewis Hamilton - 6 points

8. Oscar Piastri - 4 points

9. Fernando Alonso - 2 points

10. Lance Stroll - 1 point

11. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points

12. Kevin Magnussen - 0 points

13. Daniel Ricciardo - 0 points

14. Yuki Tsunoda - 0 points

15. Alex Albon - 0 points

16. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 points

17. Esteban Ocon - 0 points

18. Pierre Gasly - 0 points

19. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points

20. Logan Sargeant - 0 points

Another day in Formula 1’s never-ending soap opera – and another day further away from a conclusion to a story which threatens to rip Red Bull, and the sport, apart.

To recap the latest developments, early on Thursday it emerged that the female colleague, who raised allegations of “inappropriate, coercive behaviour” against Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner which were cleared by an internal probe, had been suspended on full pay by Red Bull Racing.

While we don’t yet know the grounds for her suspension and whether it could be lifted, the optics of this situation, now, are beyond unpalatable. It is shocking that Formula 1 – a sport that has prided itself on making such strides on inclusivity and diversity in recent years – has allowed the matter to stretch to this point. The message it sends, on the eve of the all-female racing series F1 Academy starting its second season on International Women’s Day, is truly terrible.

Full piece below:

Teenager Ollie Bearman celebrated becoming the youngest British driver in Formula One history by qualifying 11th in his Ferrari for Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Bearman, 18 years and 10 months to the day, was thrown into the deepest of ends as a last-minute stand-in for Carlos Sainz, who was hospitalised with appendicitis.

But the Essex teenager, with just one hour of practice under his belt, and having never driven an F1 machine at night, came within 0.036 seconds of toppling Lewis Hamilton and progressing to Q3.

Max Verstappen put Red Bull’s continued off-track woes to one side by taking pole position, with Charles Leclerc second, three-tenths back, and Sergio Perez third. Fernando Alonso took fourth, with George Russell and Hamilton seventh and eighth respectively for Mercedes. Hamilton was nearly one second slower than Verstappen.

(All times GMT)

Saturday 9 March

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of the race starts at 3:30pm.

Highlights of qualifying in the UK will be aired on free-to-air Channel 4 at 8:30pm (GMT) on Friday; the race highlights are at 9:30pm (GMT) on Saturday.

Heartwarming stuff!