On his final qualifying run for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had to put in the lap of his career to snatch pole position away from the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton was struggling to get his car into the correct qualifying window but still managed to put in a hot lap to give Verstappen plenty to sweat about. The Red Bull in Verstappen’s hands had the pace advantage. Verstappen started the lap in no mood to surrender, he definitely carried his Red Bull around the fast sweeping Jeddah street circuit with almost superhuman abilities.

However, Verstappen pushed to the absolute limit and then beyond it, the hot lap was a mixture of controlled aggression with no compromises. And as he dangerously skirted the barriers it looked as if he would either get pole position by a big margin or crash. With one corner to go Verstappen had pole in the bag.

Approaching the final corner he locked up, missed the apex, and yet decided to carry the speed. And as he exited the corner he heavily clipped the right rear of his Red Bull against the barrier. The suspension was damaged and Verstappen stopped on the circuit, thereby handing the front row to Bottas and Hamilton.

It was the wrong time for Verstappen to go over the limit because when you go over the limit there is always a 50/50 chance of either getting pole or ending up in the wall. It is a risky strategy, but hats off to Verstappen for trying, it was thrilling to watch, but it didn’t work out for him.

As always, Sunday is when the points are awarded and anything can happen at the high-risk Jeddah street circuit.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Qualifying: Top Ten

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes : 1:27.511

2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes : 0.111s

3 Max Verstappen Red Bull : 0.142s

4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari : 0.543s

5 Sergio Perez Red Bull : 0.612s

6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri : 0.614s

7 Lando Norris McLaren : 0.669s

8 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri : 0.931s

9 Esteban Ocon Alpine : 1.136s

10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo : 1.243s