Helmut Marko hails 'incredible' Max Verstappen after Saudi pole

04/19/2025 03:10 PM

Helmut Marko has pinpointed Max Verstappen's final corner as where he was able to seize Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pole from McLaren. Verstappen was 0.001s faster than Oscar Piastri after the first laps, with the Australian then improving further to set a new all-time track record for provisional pole in Jeddah. However, on his second flying lap, Verstappen pipped Piastri by 0.010s for the narrowest pole margin of the season, for his second pole of the year. Reflecting, after Lando Norris crashed heavily in Q3, Marko felt Verstappen's final corner was the key which unlocked the lap. "McLaren bluffed strongly in FP3 and had very little fuel in the car," Marko told Sky DE.  "In addition, we recalibrated the car for qualifying, and Max drove an unparalleled lap, he lost some time in the second sector, but the last corner was incredible.  "The cooler it gets, the better the car is, but the set-up was the right one. McLaren's bluff annoyed us all, and after Lando Norris hit the wall, we realised [pole] was possible."