Max Verstappen is set to start on pole position for Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix alongside McLaren's Oscar Piastri, as they both bid to take the Formula 1 standings lead from Lando Norris. Four-time champion Verstappen set a blistering time in qualifying Saturday to take pole for the second time in three races,

Max Verstappen produced another scintillating qualifying lap to stun McLaren and claim pole position for Formula One’s 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris crashed in Q3 in the other McLaren.

“Perfection, just perfection, Max,” was the succinct summary of Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, a cool character not usually prone to such hyperbole. It spoke volumes of the result that Verstappen had delivered on Sunday.