After the triumph on his debut in the Bahrain stage, the double world champion Max Verstappen concluded qualifying early and will start in fifteenth position.
Since the first free practice session, Red Bull Racing has shown that it can make the difference compared to all the other top teams. Scuderia Ferrari, after the colorless performance of the first GP, should have redeemed itself, but the weekend started uphill with 10 grid penalty positions for Leclercsending the pilots of the house based in Milton Keynes to the wedding.
The RB19, even with an unloaded wing, seems to make another category on a different asphalt than Bahrain. From a race perspective, the pace of the Austrian ground effect car appears unapproachable. In Q1 Verstappen and Perez immediately set the fastest times with the soft compounds. With 1:28.761 the Dutchman beat his Mexican teammate by 4 tenths of a second.
In the last corner, the Dutchman managed to anticipate the trajectory, turning much tighter. With more grip he makes less road than his opponents. Red Bull Racing allows driving of this type, managing to traction better than its rivals. The only car that seems to be able to hold its own is the Aston Martin in the hands of Fernando Alonso.
The Dutchman at the climax, however, remained planted in third gear in the eighth minute in Q2. After a near crash into the wall Max complained of a gearbox problem immediately. The former number 33 was forced out of the car. He will start from fifteenth position due to the problem with the axle shaft. A huge disappointment, also because he could have won hands downbut even an apparently perfect car had a technical failure.
The Wrath of Max Verstappen
The Dutchman could have taken pole position. sensational twist that, perhaps, will give the greatest opportunity to the teammate and also to Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard from Aston Martin fought for pole position with Checo. The Oviedo native did his best, but finished in second position. Leclerc overtook him in the final stages but will start from twelfth position, three positions ahead of Max. F1, GP Jeddah: TV times and streaming on SKY and TV8.
Perez took pole position. Satisfied Mexican. Qualifying reserved the big surprise with Max Verstappen. The latter told Sky Sports: “It was a problem with the axle shaft, it broke on the rear right. We’ll have to look at it well. Not ideal. It happened coming out of turn 10, which is clearly annoying, but we’ve had a great weekend so far, we’ve been good in every session. Every time we took to the track the car worked very well. Surely now it will be a little more difficult to get up front“.
The superiority of his RB19 is evident, as demonstrated by Perez’s pole position. Max has no doubts about a possible comeback, although it will take a miracle to conquer the first position: “I would have hoped to start later, but we can’t change that now. However, everything is possible on this track, even if you have to be realistic. It will be tough, but we have good pace so we will certainly move forward in the race“.
He will have to be careful in the first chaotic laps. Horner confirmed that the car is amazing, but they also changed two gearboxes. Now they will go to the bottom of the matter, hoping that a problem will not be repeated tomorrow.
