Verstappen puts the Red Bull on pole – Norris crashes

With another magical lap, Max Verstappen surprisingly secured pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

19 April 2025

From: apa/dpa

The Dutchman surprisingly won Saturday's race in the Red Bull by a hundredth of a second, ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. George Russell finished third in the Mercedes. Before the race was decided, World Championship leader Lando Norris caused a 15-minute interruption by hitting the wall. The front left suspension of his McLaren was damaged. "I'm okay," he radioed to the pits.

Without a timed lap in the decisive section, he will have to start this Sunday's race (19.00:XNUMX PM CEST) from tenth place. Norris leads the standings by three points over Oscar Piastri and eight over Verstappen.

Lando Norris had to end qualifying early. © APA/afp / THAIER AL-SUDANI

Pole position is a huge advantage in Saudi Arabia, as past races have shown. Overtaking opportunities are few and far between. Verstappen was accordingly satisfied. "I definitely didn't expect to be on pole here. The car came alive during the night, we made some final adjustments, and it was more fun. The grip is back," explained the four-time champion. Verstappen has already won in Jeddah in 2022 and 2024.

Piastri satisfied

Piastri said he couldn't have gone much faster. "The last lap felt more or less like the best I could have done. Max did a good job on another high-speed track where they seem to be handling well," said the Australian.

“Before the session I would have been happy with third place, but when you see how close it is... you always think there's a bit more in it,” Russell said.

The result