Verstappen snatches pole for Saudi Arabian GP after Norris crashes out of qualifying

Max Verstappen took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after championship leader Lando Norris crashed out of a thrilling qualifying hour in Jeddah. Norris had only just begun his first flying lap of Q3 when he lost control of his car, which broke free from his grasp when he got on the power while riding the curb exiting Turn 4. His McLaren slid at speed into the outside barrier, where the front-left corner took the brunt of the damage and halted the Briton’s lap, leaving him 10th on the grid without a time. This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha — Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025 The session was suspended to clear the smashed MCL39 with only Oscar Piastri having completed a time. Although the lap was uncompetitive, it was slower than his Q2 time. That left the door wide open to Verstappen to pinch provisional pole shortly after the resumption, the Dutchman uniquely opting to do two qualifying laps punctuated by a racing pit stop for fresh tires. George Russell was next to rotate through top spot with his sole flying lap, but both Piastri and Verstappen had chances to reply. Piastri duly moved to top spot with a 0.103s advantage, but Verstappen was last among the contenders to cross the line and go the final word. He went purple in the first sector 0.123s quicker than Piastri, and though he subsequently failed to improve in either of the final splits, he’d done enough to just cling on, snatching pole position by just 0.001s. “I’m very happy,” he said. “I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here after FP3 as well and looking at how the whole weekend was. “The car came alive in the night. We made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive. The grip was coming to me. “It’s really satisfying. To be first here in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow, even though tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind, but we’ll give it a go.” Piastri conceded pole was just out of his reach, having felt he got the most out of his car. “To be honest, I was pretty happy with it,” he said. “There wasn’t too much more left in that lap. “I’m happy with the job that I did. I was playing catch-up a little bit through the first part of qualifying, then that last lap felt like the best I could’ve done.” Russell was surprised to end up so close to the pole fight, ending up just 0.113s off top spot. “Before the session I would’ve definitely taken the P3,” he said. “But when I saw how close it was — I was really happy with the lap — you always wonder if there was a little bit more in there. P3 is a great place to start, and it’ll be a long race tomorrow.” Charles Leclerc made it four different teams in the top four, but the Ferrari driver was 0.376s off the pace and never in the mix for pole. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start fifth alongside Williams driver Carlos Sainz, sixth being the Spaniard’s best qualifying result of the season. Lewis Hamilton was seventh, 0.531s off teammate Leclerc’s pace, the gap between the two Ferrari cars practically unchanged throughout the weekend. Yuki Tsunoda was eighth in the second Red Bull Racing car and 0.91s off the pace, while Pierre Gasly was last among the nine runners to set a time, lapping 1.073s off pole to put himself ahead of Norris on the grid. Alex Albon missed a spot in Q3 by just 0.007s, the Thai driver outqualified by teammate Sainz for the second grand prix in a row. Liam Lawson will start ahead of a teammate for the first time this season after qualifying 12th, two places ahead of Isack Hadjar in the second Racing Bulls machine. The Faenza duo sandwiched Fernando Alonso, who qualified 13th for the fourth round in succession. Oliver Bearman qualified 15th for Haas as the slowest driver in Q2. Lance Stroll was knocked out in Q1 for the third grand prix in succession, qualifying 16th ahead of rookie Jack Doohan, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto, who lost his final lap to a spin that left him last and 0.37s off the back of the pack.