P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Helmut Marko felt one corner in particular was key for Max Verstappen’s stunning pole lap in Saudi Arabia.
Helmut Marko identified Max Verstappen’s final corner as the crucial point where he secured pole position in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, overtaking McLaren in the process. Despite being slightly faster than Oscar Piastri after the initial laps, Verstappen set a new track record for provisional pole position in Jeddah. With an incredibly narrow margin, Verstappen ultimately clinched his second pole of the year by just 0.010s over Piastri. Following Lando Norris’s Q3 crash, Marko credited Verstappen’s final corner performance as the key to his successful lap. McLaren’s strategic bluff in FP3 didn’t deter Verstappen, who delivered an exceptional lap after recalibrating the car for qualifying.
