Under the lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Max Verstappen delivered a brilliant lap to get pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, denying McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by just 0.010 seconds in a “satisfying” Qualifying session.
With McLaren having set the pace throughout practice, many tipped Piastri or Lando Norris to lock out the front row. But as the pressure ramped up in Q3, it was the reigning world champion who stepped up when it mattered most, pulling out an inspired lap of 1:27.294 on his final run to claim the 42nd pole of his F1 career.
Verstappen says that ‘the car came alive in the night’
Speaking after the session, Verstappen admitted he hadn’t expected to be in contention for pole following a challenging Friday and a low-key FP3. But as conditions cooled and the team made final tweaks, the Red Bull came to life.
“Yeah, I mean, very happy. I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here after FP3 as well, and looking at how the whole weekend was,” v said in parc fermé.
“But, yeah, the car came alive in the night. We made some final changes. And, yeah, it was a lot more enjoyable to drive. And around here, you know, qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls. You need to try and nail it.
“And, yeah, it’s really satisfying, you know, to be first here in qualifying.”
Verstappen now finds himself in the perfect position for Sunday’s race, but he knows it won’t be straightforward.
“It’s, of course, the best position for tomorrow; even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind. But we’re going to give it a good go.”
Red flag chaos and late heroics
The final segment of Qualifying was not without incident. Lando Norris, who had looked quick all weekend, clipped the kerb at Turn 5 and crashed out before setting a time, bringing out a red flag. That left nine cars in the mix for pole, with George Russell briefly claiming provisional P1 with a 1:27.407.
Piastri appeared poised to challenge after topping the first sector, but it was Verstappen who found more time in the final corners, edging ahead by a whisker to top the timesheets, proving once again why he’s the benchmark in qualifying.
The car feels ‘much better than Bahrain’
Red Bull’s fortunes have fluctuated in the opening rounds of the season, but Verstappen was pleased to see a return to form on Saturday night.
“Yeah, we’ll do our best. I mean, you know, so far I’m just very happy that we, again, had a solid qualifying. Much better than what we had in Bahrain, of course. And, yeah, let’s see what we can do tomorrow in the race.”
While Verstappen expects a stern challenge from the McLarens and Russell behind, he’ll be confident of converting this one into a crucial early-season victory.
