As the season boils down to two more qualifying sessions, it is all to play for and with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton struggling during the session to outpace find the grip they needed for a comfortable pole position, the final run accident by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was a sigh of relief for Lewis and the team.

Lewis had fueled for a long run in Q3 and had secured pole on his final attempt. This left Max Verstappen one last chance to claim pole and he was on a blinder of a lap up two tenths at the end of sector two with just one corner to go. It looked as if Red Bull may have pulled the rabbit out of the hat and found the pace to possibly win on a track touted as a Mercedes-favoring circuit.

That is until Max locked a front left tire and clouted the wall ending his run for pole and handing a 1, 2 to Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas. With the last two circuits said to favor Mercedes, Max needed that pole to keep his championship alive but it all comes down to Sunday’s race and if Red Bull can find better race pace as well s a good start in Saudi Arabia.

Qualifying Results: