RED BULL’S MAX Verstappen nailed pole from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a gripping qualifying session on Saturday.
Piastri’s teammate, championship leader Lando Norris, crashed in the top 10 shoot-out and will start on the fifth row of Sunday’s race.
Four-time world champion Verstappen was in unstoppable form under the floodlights on the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, grabing the front of the grid by one hundredth of a second.
Advertisement
It was a huge turnaround for the Dutchman after he and his Red Bull team had struggled in Bahrain last weekend.
“Very happy! I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here,” said a beaming Verstappen.
“The car came alive in the night, we made some final changes and it was more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me.
“I think tomorrow in the race, it will be tough to keep them (McLaren) behind, but we’ll give it a good go,” he added.
Norris leads the drivers’ standings by three points from Piastri with Verstappen five points back ahead of this fifth round of the 24-race season.
George Russell sets off on the second row in his Mercedes alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Kimi Antonelli in the other Mercedes is on the third row with Carlos Sainz in a Williams.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Norris completed the top 10.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Verstappen grabs pole for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
RED BULL’S MAX Verstappen nailed pole from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a gripping qualifying session on Saturday.
Piastri’s teammate, championship leader Lando Norris, crashed in the top 10 shoot-out and will start on the fifth row of Sunday’s race.
Four-time world champion Verstappen was in unstoppable form under the floodlights on the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, grabing the front of the grid by one hundredth of a second.
It was a huge turnaround for the Dutchman after he and his Red Bull team had struggled in Bahrain last weekend.
“Very happy! I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here,” said a beaming Verstappen.
“The car came alive in the night, we made some final changes and it was more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me.
“I think tomorrow in the race, it will be tough to keep them (McLaren) behind, but we’ll give it a good go,” he added.
Norris leads the drivers’ standings by three points from Piastri with Verstappen five points back ahead of this fifth round of the 24-race season.
George Russell sets off on the second row in his Mercedes alongside the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Kimi Antonelli in the other Mercedes is on the third row with Carlos Sainz in a Williams.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Norris completed the top 10.
– © AFP 2025
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
F1 Grand Prix Saudi Arabian Grand Prix