Max Verstappen hails Red Bull turnaround as ‘car comes alive’ in Saudi Arabia qualifying

Max Verstappen praised the late changes Red Bull made to his F1 car after taking pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen delivered another mighty lap to take his second F1 pole position of the year.

The Dutchman ultimately beat Oscar Piastri to pole position by just 0.010s.

It’s a big opportunity for Verstappen in terms of the F1 title race after Lando Norris crashed out in Q3.

Norris’ crash means he won’t start any higher than 10th on the grid.

Heading into Sunday’s race, Verstappen is eight points behind Norris in the drivers’ championship.

Reflecting on his qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Verstappen said: “Very happy. I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here after FP3 as well and looking at how the whole weekend was.

“The car came alive in the night. We made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive.

“The grip was coming to me and around here, a qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls you need to try and nail it. It’s really satisfying to be first here in qualifying and of course the best position for tomorrow even though in the race it will be tough to keep them behind but we’re going to give it a good go.”

‘Much better than Bahrain’

It’s a remarkable turnaround for Verstappen and Red Bull following a horrible race in Bahrain.

Verstappen spent most of the race fighting in the midfield as Red Bull endured a tricky race.

A lack of pace was compounded by poor pit stops, resulting in a ‘crisis meeting’ among Red Bull’s top management after the race.

Speculation has also been rife about Verstappen’s future amid Red Bull’s poor on-track performance.

Looking ahead to the race, Verstappen said: “We will do our best. So far, I am just very happy to have a solid qualifying.

“Much better than what we had in Bahrain, of course. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow in the race.”