From the start of the lap it could be seen that Verstappen was over the limits at the end of Q3 at the Jeddah circuit, passing very close to the wall at the exit of Turn 2.
The Dutch driver beat Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark times in the first two sectors, even taking a 0.244 lead over his championship rival by the end of the second set, but he blew it all at the final corner.
Verstappen slightly lost control of the Red Bull and, in an attempt to regain it, he slid and hit the outside wall with his right rear wheel, causing him to lose everything he had gained up to that point and forcing him to settle for third place . .
“Yes, of course it’s terrible, but it was a good qualifying,” Verstappen commented in the analysis of what happened after getting out of the car. “It was a bit difficult to get the tires into the correct operating window, but I knew the pace was there, and it showed at the last moment,” he added.
The world championship leader still does not understand why he could not keep his car on the ideal line to achieve pole position: “I don’t really know what happened, but I blocked, and I tried to keep the car on the track to finish the back, but I touched the rear and I had to stop”.
For Sunday’s race, Verstappen will have to contend with both Mercedes, as Hamilton took pole position and teammate Valtteri Bottas completed a one-two finish for the Brackley outfit.
Be that as it may, the Dutchman is confident that he has a good car : “Third position is a bit disappointing knowing the lap I was doing, but it shows that the car is fast, let’s see what we can do tomorrow,” he said.
Asked if he was worried about the gearbox from the hit to the rear of the Red Bull, Verstappen replied: “I don’t know. I’ve stopped immediately, we’ll look into it.”
This will be the sixth time this season that Verstappen will start from third place. On previous occasions, from that place, he managed to win at Imola and at the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome , although the overtaking options in Jeddah are considerably less than these tracks.
Gallery: Max Verstappen’s photos at the 2021 F1 Saudi Arabian GP
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Foto de: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
