Hamilton on pole in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen crashes on ‘lap of the year’

Lewis Hamilton starts the first Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position after Max Verstappen collided with the wall on his final flying lap.

Verstappen was nearly three-tenths quicker than anybody on his last lap but ran wide at the final corner and smacked the wall.

The Red Bull driver didn’t complete the lap and stopped his car on the corner exit.

“I locked up and tried to keep it on the track to finish the lap,” Verstappen said. “We need to understand what happened.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Verstappen’s lap was on course to be “lap of the year.”

The team now must decide if the gearbox is still good to use in the race. They face a five-place grid penalty if they must replace it.

Hamilton will front teammate Valtteri Bottas off the grid tomorrow.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he expected his team to be stronger at the flat-out Jeddah street circuit. But he says having both cars on the front row is a “big advantage” in the championship battle.

Eight points separate Verstappen and Hamilton with two races remaining.

Bottas says he’ll do whatever he needs to do to help his teammate win the title, even if that means forfeiting a win.

“I want to get a win but first things first I want to give the team a championship and Lewis is still fighting for the title,” he said. “I’ll do my best with whatever I can.”

Hamilton is not entirely in the clear just yet.

He was put under investigation for ignoring yellow flags and impeding another driver in FP3.

Race stewards announced moments before qualifying Hamilton was let off with a warning.

Still, Horner says his team will scrutinise everything that unfolded and launch an appeal if they feel one is necessary.

Wolff says he anticipates Red Bull to do so.

Charles Leclerc bounced back from a heavy crash on Friday to put himself on the second row, splitting the two Red Bulls.

Sergio Perez starts fifth, ahead of Pierre Gasly.

Lando Norris was disappointed to qualify P7, believing he had a car capable of being on the second row.

“I just pushed a little bit too hard and went off at turn 22 and had to back off.”

Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Antonio Giovinazzi round out the top ten.

Carlos Sainz had a scrappy Q2 session, hitting the wall following a spin at turn 11.

He starts a lowly 15th.