Max Verstappen’s talents appear to know no bounds after another unbelievable qualifying lap at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
McLaren star Oscar Piastri must have thought that he’d secured back-to-back pole positions after setting a 1:27.304 and briefly the lap record in Jeddah.
However, Max Verstappen was one of the final drivers to cross the line in Q3 and defeated the Australian by one hundredth of a second.
Damon Hill lauded Verstappen’s unbelievable effort, especially given Red Bull have a small disadvantage compared to McLaren in terms of their ultimate pace in Saudi Arabia.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:27.294 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:27.304 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:27.407 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:27.670 |
| 5 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:27.866 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:28.164 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:28.201 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 1:28.204 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:28.367 |
| 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren | No Time |
Verstappen has spent the last few seasons going into each campaign knowing he’s the favourite for the championship and then asserting his dominance.
However, 2025 has forced Verstappen to take a step back and play the unexpected role of the underdog, with Lando Norris and Piastri heading into each Grand Prix as favourites.
Jamie Chadwick has been watching the Dutchman closely this season and has been impressed by the way Verstappen has approached this campaign.
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Chadwick was a pundit for Sky Sports F1 and discussing Verstappen’s latest brilliant pole position.
Verstappen had just spoken to the media and said, “It is really nice but definitely unexpected to get pole today. The team made some final adjustments going into qualifying which allowed me to be a bit more comfortable in the car and attack the corners.
“I’m really proud of the team, after the red flag they stayed calm and chose the right strategy. I wasn’t entirely sure what the right call was and then GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] came on the radio and the team were definitely right.
“It is always a team effort, all the engineers helped with this and helped improve on particular corners. I knew what I had to do to beat the lap record but it’s always extremely rewarding to put a good lap together here.”
In response to Verstappen’s comments and the credit he gave to the team around him, Chadwick explained: “I really like Max’s approach this year where you said he seems in a good mood, he almost seems a little bit subdued in some regards.
“And even when some things aren’t going well, he doesn’t seem like he’s throwing his toys out of the pram that much, and when things to go well as well, he’s not super, super elated.
“So, it feels like in some regards he’s found this inner peace and he’s just conserving energy.
“He’s got a lot of capacity to be able to put these kind of laps in, and I think it’s working for him this year.”
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How Max Verstappen’s qualifying lap compares to the closest finishes of the F1 turbo-hybrid era
Formula 1 is entering its final season of the turbo-hybrid era before the 2026 power unit regulations are introduced, and the status quo of the sport restarts once again.
There have been some extremely close finishes in qualifying during that time, but incredibly the 0.010 second gap between Verstappen and Piastri has been beaten on several occasions.
Verstappen and George Russell set the same time in Canada last year, with the Mercedes driver handed pole position having set his lap earlier in the session.
| RACE | 1ST PLACE | 2ND PLACE | GAP |
| 2024 Canadian GP | George Russell | Max Verstappen | +0.000 |
| 2023 Hungarian GP | Lewis Hamilton | Max Verstappen | +0.003 |
| 2019 British GP | Valtteri Bottas | Lewis Hamilton | +0.006 |
| 2014 Singapore GP | Lewis Hamilton | Nico Rosberg | +0.007 |
| 2021 Portuguese GP | Valtteri Bottas | Lewis Hamilton | +0.007 |
| 2022 Japanese GP | Max Verstappen | Charles Leclerc | +0.010 |
| 2025 Saudi Arabian GP | Max Verstappen | Oscar Piastri | +0.010 |
The run down to the first corner is going to be vital to determining who wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Verstappen has the advantage of starting on pole position, but Piastri has proved at the start of this season that the Red Bull star’s job isn’t done if he’s leading at the end of the opening lap.
