Throwing a spanner in the works, Max Verstappen was robbed of pole position after his car staggered slowly at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Lap after lap, the Red Bull machinery left its rivals stunned as the benchmark kept rising. However, in Q2 of the qualifying session on Saturday, the F1 grid breathed a collective sigh of relief.
However, Toto Wolff has an eye on his rivals. With the engine failure too good to be true, the Mercedes honcho refuses to believe what he sees, claiming that Red Bull has bigger plans in place.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull faking Saudi Arabian problems
Toto Wolff has quipped that Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team may have deliberately sabotaged their car to send a bold message. Verstappen seemed poised to secure the top spot in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying, having dominated the practice runs and Q1 with ease.
The drive shaft failure on Verstappen’s RB18 ruined his chances of pole position, handing it to his teammate instead. After qualifying, Wolff mused, “maybe they’ve done it on purpose to get a win all the way from the back.”
Moments before setting a competitive lap in Q2, the technical glitch forced Verstappen to park his car back in the garage. While the Red Bul engineers scurried about, trying to find a solution, Verstappen headed to the media pen. While most drivers would be worried or frustrated at the situation, Verstappen walked around with a smile on his face. Such is the confidence in his Red Bull? Maybe. We might just see Verstappen at the front of the pack in the blink of an eye.
Verstappen remains confident
Laughing about the events of the evening, Verstappen simply labeled it “a bit of a shame.” The Dutchman was the clear favorite of the session, and the weekend, with the domination of him and his car being unmatched.
Hiding a cheeky smile, Verstappen analyzes his chances and remains secure in himself. “We’ll see what we can do tomorrow. I mean, starting P15, realistically you cannot fight for the win. But, you never know around here.”
If Wolff was right about one thing, Verstappen can get the win from the back of the grid- he’s done it before, and Sunday shouldn’t be too different. the dutch Lion will be on the prowl, then, thirsty for the champagne showers at the end of the line.
