No penalty for Verstappen before the start

This is the picture of the weekend so far. Far ahead of Lewis Hamilton during his last attempt launched, Max Verstappen hit the wall at the exit of the last corner and saw his hopes of pole position go up in smoke in no time.

Immobilized on the track, the Batavian left an RB16B damaged at the rear end, forcing his team to work on it and above all raising fears of changes to parts, including the gearbox, and consequently a penalty on the grid.

One turn from pole! 🤯

Max Verstappen ends up against the wall and it's ultimately Lewis Hamilton who will be on the front row!

With such exciting qualifiers, we can only look forward to tomorrow, we'll have to brush against the walls! 😍 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/fmOhZwoiq8

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) December 4, 2021

After inspection, the Austrian team's mechanics ultimately found no problem with the RB16B's gearbox, allowing Max Verstappen to escape any sanction before the Grand Prix's departure from Saudi Arabia.

The penalty avoided, the championship leader will start from 3rd row on the grid behind the two drivers Mercedes with Valtteri Bottas 2nd and Lewis Hamilton in pole position. Max Verstappen will look to attack the Silver Arrows because as it stands he could lose the lead in the Drivers' standings one round from the end of the season.

Tune in at 18:30 p.m. on AUTOhebdo to follow the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in live text this Sunday.

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