Max Verstappen takes magnificent pole position in Jeddah: 'The car came to life'

Published on 19 April 2025 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a thrilling qualifying session. On the street circuit in Jeddah, McLaren had dominated the free practice sessions and looked set to be the favourites for pole. However, Lando Norris knocked himself out of contention in Q3 following a crash. Max had been near the front throughout qualifying, and in the final moments, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver put in a supreme effort to take his second pole position of the season. Oscar Piastri ended up just one hundredth of a second behind Max in P2 in his McLaren, with George Russell close behind in third for Mercedes.

After qualifying, a beaming Max said: “I am very happy. I actually did not expect to be on pole here after the third free practice, given how the weekend was. But the car came to life in the night. I felt good in the car, we made some final changes, and the car was much more enjoyable to drive. The grip came to me. Qualifying here is extremely difficult, with the walls being so close. You cannot afford any mistakes, so putting in a good lap is very satisfying.”

Despite securing a brilliant second pole of the year, Max knows the race win is far from guaranteed: “To start first here in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow, but so far my long runs have been pretty poor, so it is going to be tough to keep them behind us in the race. I do think the balance of the car was better today, so we will give it everything we have. For now, I am just really pleased that we had a solid qualifying, much better than in Bahrain, so let’s see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”

Under the floodlights at the lightning-fast 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit, qualifying got underway. As usual, all drivers went out on soft compound tyres. Max posted a 1:28.148 on his first flying lap in Q1, putting him third behind both McLarens, who had been leading the pack all weekend. A second run followed, during which Max improved his time to 1:27.778, just edging out Norris and Piastri. Max therefore topped Q1. Eliminated after the first session were: Lance Stroll (P16), Jack Doohan (P17), Nico Hülkenberg (P18), Esteban Ocon (P19), and Gabriel Bortoleto in last. Stroll set a notable record in the process, he is now the driver most frequently eliminated in Q1.

In Q2, Max set a 1:27.529 on his first hot lap, good enough for second place behind Norris. He opted not to do a second run as no one managed to beat his time, meaning he safely went through to Q3. Knocked out after Q2 were Alexander Albon (P11), Liam Lawson (P12), Fernando Alonso (P13), Isack Hadjar (P14), and Oliver Bearman (P15).

In Q3, Max had just come out on track when Lando Norris lost control at Turn 5 and crashed into the wall. The championship leader was unhurt, but his McLaren was too badly damaged to continue. A red flag was brought out, just after Oscar Piastri had set a time. Following a short delay, the session resumed. Max was quickly back on track and set a 1:27.559 on his first run, just one thousandth of a second quicker than Piastri.

All drivers then had one final flying lap. First, Russell went faster than Verstappen, then Piastri took P1 from the Mercedes driver. But Max was pushing flat out and posted a 1:27.294, taking pole position. Piastri had to settle for P2, just one hundredth of a second behind Max, with George Russell in third. Charles Leclerc finished P4, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fifth, and Carlos Sainz impressed by taking sixth in his Williams. Lewis Hamilton came seventh, followed by Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly in eighth and ninth. Lando Norris, who crashed earlier in Q3, did not set a time and will start from tenth.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday at 19:00 Dutch time.

Contest GP Djeddah: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!

Results qualifying Saudi Arabia: