Did McLaren ‘bluff’ in practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?

That’s what Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko believes, despite Max Verstappen snatching a shock pole position.

The McLaren ‘bluff’ in Saudi Arabia

McLaren have clearly been the favorites this 2025 Formula 1 season, with the team dominating both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship standings.

But in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the team looked almost demoralizingly quick, ending the session over six-tenths of a second ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell, and over a second shy of the fourth-placed Max Verstappen.

They were naturally the favorites heading into qualifying, then — but as it turned out, Verstappen was the driver to nab pole by just one hundredth over McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

What changed?

More Saudi Arabian GP analysis:

👉 The Max Verstappen ‘bonus’ found in McLaren battle data analysis

👉 Uncovered: Intricate tech secrets on display at Saudi Arabian GP

Speaking to Sky Germany after qualifying, Helmut Marko had some strong words about the papaya team.

“McLaren bluffed strongly in FP3 and had very little fuel in the car,” Marko said.

“In addition, we recalibrated the car for qualifying, and Max drove an unparalleled lap, he lost some time in the second sector, but the last corner was incredible.

“The cooler it gets, the better the car is, but the set-up was the right one. McLaren’s bluff annoyed us all, and after Lando Norris hit the wall, we realised [pole] was possible.”

Speaking to media in the FIA press conference after the session, Verstappen noted that the decision to run two laps separated by a pit stop for fresh tyres was made by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the red flag period caused by Norris’ crash.

With that strategy, Verstappen set his first fast lap with used tyres and enough fuel for both laps; after that, the Dutch driver pitted for fresh tyres. The first lap was insurance, and the second was the flyer that netted him pole position.

But does Red Bull have any hope for winning the race?

Marko admitted that “we can only hope that these changes will also have an effect on the race distance, but if you start first and are in clean air, life is much easier.”

Whether or not that clean air is enough to compensate for the RB21’s faults will remain to be seen, but the boost of pole position will almost certainly help.

Read next: Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen snatches shock pole as Norris crashes out