Verstappen grabs season’s tightest pole in thrilling Jeddah Quali

Under the lights and under pressure, Max Verstappen defied expectations to snatch a thrilling Pole Position by just 0.010s from Oscar Piastri, as Lando Norris’ qualifying hopes were shattered in a dramatic Q3 twist at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Qualifying 1:

With all to play for as the light went green to mark the start of Qualifying in Saudi Arabia, the queue of impatient drivers was unleashed onto the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. 

Not leaving themselves much leeway, RB only released Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar with ten minutes on the clock, however, the tyre-saving initiative proved successful when both cars cleared the bottom—but only temporarily. 

As the second haul of attempts rolled in, the Kiwi was pushed back into the bottom five, leaving him at risk as he returned to the pitlane.

With just a few minutes remaining in the session, the short-lived lull came to an end as the field rolled out for one final shootout.

Personal bests after personal best carried Lawson to the line, and with a complete time of 1:28.561s, the #30 scraped through to Q2 by less than one-tenth.

Withheld in his garage for an extra moment, Oscar Piastri bypassed the early hustle and bustle of Q1.

When he finally made his first attempt of the hour, the Australian shot to the top by a slim seven-millisecond margin, with his time of 1:28.019s working to demote his teammate.

Lando Norris bit back, however, upping his Q1 pace to put two-tenths between the teammates as the final round of flying laps kicked off. 

With the #4 opting to remain in the pitlane, Piastri had the full attention of the McLaren pit wall as he charged for one final time, improving, however, remaining at a deficit to his teammate in Q1.

One of the first drivers to tour the 6.1km circuit was Jack Doohan who recorded a 1:29.150s for his first banker lap in Q1.

Despite initially looking competitive, his return to the pitlane saw the Australian expectedly falling down the order to sit in the unfavourable elimination zone alongside his teammate. 

Launching as one of the first drivers on the road, Doohan made improvements across the lap on his way to setting the 13th fastest time—but he was far from in the clear.

The Australian slipped down the order as the cars behind him took the chequered flag, with Pierre Gasly acting as the nail in the coffin when his success demoted Doohan into the bottom five.

As a result, the Alpine driver will start the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from P17, sharing the second-last row with Nico Hulkenberg. 

As for the rest of the field, Lando Norris initially put eight-tenths of a second between himself and his nearest competitor when he crossed the line for the very first time in Qualifying, setting an early benchmark of 1:28.026s before he was just pipped by his teammate.

Trailing the McLaren duo, Max Verstappen came within a tenth of the Australian’s fastest lap, however, the intra-team battle didn’t end there, with Norris pushing his MCL39 even harder on his next run to move into the top spot.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the timesheets, Doohan, Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto all had a hefty task ahead of them.

Following a short lull, those drivers were joined on track by the rest of the field as the last-ditch round of flying laps ignited.

Shooting to the top of the order, Verstappen found an extra notch of pace in Jeddah, ending the opening session as the fastest driver ahead of the McLaren duo, while a mixed top ten ensued behind.

In the elimination zone, Lance Stroll was knocked out by the slimmest of margins, seeing Aston Martin combing through his competitors’ data in the hopes of detecting a track limits infringement, however, no faults were detected.

Joining the Canadian in a Q1 exit were Jack Doohan, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto. 

Qualifying 2:

Reacting to one another’s pitlane antics, the field watched and waited before the pitlane burst to life in the second stage of qualifying.

Lawson again took a risky approach to his run program, not venturing out of the pitlane alongside the rest of his competitors, and instead opting to only set one flying lap in the dying stages. 

The Kiwi joined the pack as they rolled out of the pitlane with three minutes remaining, completing a “pretty damn good lap” to temporarily move into the top ten, however, as his competitors followed suit, his 1:28.191s left him in a bittersweet P12. 

Lining up from Row 6 on the grid will be the Kiwi’s highest start of the season, notably ahead of Isack Hadjar who qualified in P14.

Arming himself with a fresh set of soft compound tyres to start Q2, Piastri saw purple as he flew around the 27 corners, recording a time of 1:27.690s that fell two-tenths short to his teammate thanks to a bumpy ride across the kerbs. 

He made a minor improvement on his next run, shaving a tenth off his initial lap before taking a short reset in his garage.

Piastri headed back out on the fast-paced street circuit for his final flying lap, continuing his quicker trajectory as he advanced through to Q3 with a time of 1:27.545s, with the top three being separated by just 64 milliseconds. 

As for the rest of the field, the top three from Q1 reinstated themselves into the top three in Q2, with Norris leading over Verstappen—who was clearly pushing harder as he mounted the kerbs at Turns 4 and 5—by just 48 milliseconds. 

At the back end of the field, there weren’t any shock contenders sitting in the bottom five, with Alex Albon, Ollie Bearman, Hadjar, Fernando Alonso and Lawson all fighting to keep their qualifying campaigns alive as they left the pitlane with three minutes on the clock.

None of those drivers were able to improve from the elimination zone, instead shifting orders among themselves, with Albon suffering the biggest heartbreak of the session as he missed out on a place in Q3 by just seven milliseconds. 

Also separated by just 64 milliseconds were the top three, setting the stage for a tight final shootout in just a few minutes’ time.

Qualifying 3:

Unlike the earlier sessions, the field wasted no time as they hurried out onto the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, not wanting to risk losing out to a costly Red Flag in the Q3 shootout. 

Piastri sent a message as he completed his first lap, setting purple sector after purple sector to cross the line with a time of 1:27.560s.

The Australian was the only driver to ratify his lap before a feared Red Flag ruined the early flow of the session, with the #81 having his teammate to thank for his lucky banker lap.

Bouncing across the fast-paced kerb at Turn 5, Lando Norris lost control of his MCL39 and became a passenger as he slammed into the concrete walls, ending what looked to be his Qualifying to lose in the barriers.

After clearing the crumpled McLaren from the exit of Turn 5, the session resumed with eight minutes on the clock.

Verstappen was one of three drivers who opted to set two laps after the Red Flag disruption, feeling the heat of his competitors’ gaze as the rest of the remaining drivers watched on from the comfort of the pitlane.

The Red Bull driver went purple in Sector 1, improving with a personal best in Sector 2 before a flying final sector rewarded him with a lap just one millisecond quicker than Piastri.

With the pressure on McLaren to respond, the field finally made its way on track for one last-ditch launch at securing Pole Position in Saudi Arabia.

George Russell was the first driver to put his foot to the floor, gliding around the 6.1km circuit before proving that the fight for pole was well and truly more than a two-man battle as he moved to the top of the order.

On Piastri’s second and final attempt, the #81 had lost some of his earlier prowess, with his once-fastest sectors being eaten up by the man behind him.

The Australian momentarily revelled in provisional Pole Position with a time of 1:27.304s, knocking Russell down a peg before Verstappen stole the show, stealing the top grid slot by just 10 milliseconds.

With a time of 1:27.294s, the Dutchman celebrated his second Pole Position of the season, admitting that he “definitely didn’t expect to be on Pole” as his double-lap strategy proved to be the most effective program.

With the top three locked in, Charles Leclerc crossed the line to claim the grid box alongside Russell, with the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli also set to cloud his mirrors on the run to the first turn.

Carlos Sainz will line up from an impressive P6, finally meshing with his Williams race car and taking the personal win of out-qualifying Lewis Hamilton in Jeddah.

The seven-time world champion failed to iron out his earlier issues, settling for a P7 start ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris’ wounded MCL39.

The driver starting on Pole has won on three out of four occasions at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, however, with a fast-charging McLaren in P2 and P10, it is impossible to predict how the podium will read when the chequered flag falls in Jeddah.

Lights out for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place at 03:00 AEST. 

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Starting Grid: 

Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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