Verstappen resigned after qualifying

Victim of his mechanics, the world champion was unable to set a time in Q2 and was condemned to 15th place on the grid.

Published on 18/03/2023 à 20:02

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Verstappen resigned after qualifying: “There’s nothing we can do about it”

Qualifying proved much more difficult than expected for Verstappen. ©DPPI

Thunderclap at Red Bull during the qualifying session in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). If Max Verstappen had dominated each free practice session, confirming the incredible performance of his RB19, his walk in the park was abruptly interrupted. The Dutchman was setting out for a first attempt when an unusual noise disturbed his gear shift, and his radio immediately sounded: problem with the gearbox... Although it had been changed as a precaution at the start of the day. Verstappen already complained on Friday and during the opening round of the season of discomfort which turns out to be confirmed. And there were even fears of an engine failure at Red Bull, the driver of the sister team Nyck de Vries seeing his Alpha Tauri nailed to the pits in Free Practice 3…

« It will be a little difficult to get back to the front, admits the pilot who will start 15th on the grid on Sunday, but above all it will be necessary to score points. It's a long season of course, and I would have liked to start from a little higher on the grid. But that's how it is, there's nothing we can do about it. »

« I came out of turn 10, and this happened, He says. It's really boring. We had a good weekend, all sessions went well », declares the Batavian. Upon the arrival of the car No. 1 in the pits, we were scrambling around to understand where the problem was coming from and resolve it before tomorrow. If the Jeddah track is between the walls, it has the reputation of offering races with twists and turns allowing you to take advantage of safety cars... or endure them. Especially since Verstappen will not be too disoriented: Charles Leclerc, penalized by ten places, will start 12th in the middle of the pack. The two rivals will have to begin a difficult climb on the urban track, advantaged by the racing pace of their cars.

In front, it was Sergio Pérez who took pole, thus giving color to the Austrian garage. He will start on the same line as Fernando Alonso which, despite the circuit corresponding less to its Aston Martin on paper, has never been so close to another victory.

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