Despite struggling with the usual balance issues and pace deficit of the RB21, Max Verstappen once again pulled out a miraculous lap during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP on Saturday. His final Q3 flying effort was just good enough — by only 0.010 seconds — to steal pole position away from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
What made this lap even more impressive was the fact that Verstappen had no confidence in the Red Bull car going into the sessions. Red Bull’s problems were exposed at the Bahrain GP last weekend, and those issues persisted on the car at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as well.
And with the Dutchman making the difference on Saturday, team boss Christian Horner is cautiously optimistic about their chances in the Grand Prix on Sunday. When asked if bagging pole position was important for the Dutchman to fight for the win, he said, “It does because you have the fresh air. If you can convert the pole, you run in clean air.”
But the threat that the MCL39 poses in terms of out and out pace is something that is playing on Horner’s mind.
“But the McLaren is really quick around here, so it would be tough to keep Oscar behind,” he added.
Christian Horner: It does because you have the fresh air. If you can convert the pole, you run in clean air, but the McLaren is really quick around here, so it would be tough to keep Oscar behind.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) April 19, 2025
Going into the Grand Prix, the #81 driver is indeed the favorite to win. The Australian racing ace has been in the form of his life since the start of the season with two pole positions and two Grand Prix wins so far.
If he wins on Sunday, it would not only get him his fifth Grand Prix victory but would catapult him to the top of the drivers’ standings. As things stand, he trails his McLaren teammate Lando Norris by just three points.
For Norris, his hopes for a win on Sunday disappeared only two minutes into Q3. A snap of oversteer meant he lost his car and collided with the barriers at turn 5, ending his session and relegating him to P10.
On a track that is difficult to overtake on, Norris can only hope to make up as many places as he can to limit the damage to his title hopes. On the other hand, this very fact could make matters difficult for his own teammate.
Piastri will start alongside Verstappen in P2, but it would be a tough ask for him to pass the four-time world champion on a track like Jeddah. But the historical chances of a Safety Car or Red Flag could factor in and allow McLaren to orchestrate a strategy to overtake Verstappen.
