JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Lando Norris showed just how fine the margins can be when he crashed while chasing pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen stayed just the right side of the limit.
Formula 1 champion Verstappen will start at the front of the grid after the crash by standings leader Norris on Saturday.
Red Bull's Verstappen beat McLaren driver Oscar Piastri's time by .01 of a second on his final run to take pole for Sunday's race. George Russell was third fastest for Mercedes, .113 off the pace.
“I definitely didn't expect to be on pole here,” said Verstappen, who was coming off a difficult race last week in Bahrain amid speculation over his future with Red Bull.
He said “the car came alive" ahead of qualifying after some setup changes, but played down expectations he could turn the pole position into a win, as he did at the Japanese Grand Prix.
“It’s really satisfying," Verstappen said. "To be first there in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow, even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind, but we’re going to give it a good go.”
Verstappen struggled with overheating in his tires and brakes in Bahrain and was off the pace in the hotter daytime practice sessions in Saudi Arabia. Sunday's race is at night, like qualifying, but Verstappen said he was unsure how the Red Bull car would react to heat building up over the longer distance.
Verstappen was helped in Japan by a track design which makes overtaking difficult. He kept Norris and Piastri behind him throughout that race. The Jeddah track has three zones where drivers can use the DRS overtaking aid, against just one in Japan, something which Piastri said was “a nice difference.”
Verstappen has won two of the four F1 races in Saudi Arabia. Three of the races were won by the driver on pole.
Russell said his and Verstappen's hopes rested on keeping Piastri from getting ahead at the start and controlling the pace, as he did on his way to winning in Bahrain.
“Max and I were just talking now. We both recognize McLaren are other standout favorites and definitely have the the pace on everybody else,” Russell said. “If Oscar gets into the lead you’ll probably see a repeat of Bahrain. If we stay in the order we've qualified, it could be a tight race until the pit stops.”
Norris qualified 10th because of his crash. He had not set a time in the third part of qualifying when he lost control over a curb and ran wide into the wall on the exit of the corner, breaking his car’s suspension. That brought out the red flag, stopping the session until the McLaren could be removed.
Norris, who was checked over at the medical center, said he was “just disappointed” and would try to target a top-five finish on Sunday, in comments to broadcaster Sky Sports.
“I'm going to go and see my engineers and apologize and then see what we can do for tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow's going to need a bit of luck.”
Norris has a three-point lead over his McLaren teammate Piastri after four races, but has said he doesn't feel confident in the car and isn't able to drive at his best. Verstappen is eight points off the lead.
It was a mixed picture for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and Lewis Hamilton was seventh. Hamilton was nearly eliminated in the second part of qualifying, making it into the top-10 shootout only by .007 of a second.
Yuki Tsunoda qualified eighth for his third race as Verstappen's teammate since replacing Liam Lawson at Red Bull.
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The Associated Press
