“It will be tough,” Max Verstappen gives blunt verdict after shock pole at Saudi Arabian GP

Max Verstappen is not expecting a flashy performance in Jeddah despite shockingly achieving the pole position on Saturday.

“It will be tough,” Max Verstappen gives blunt verdict after shock pole at Saudi Arabian GP

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Red Bull’s incessant performance struggles have continued since the beginning of the 2025 season. The team is unable to find massive grounds for improvement over the rival teams, especially McLaren. Max Verstappen, who is already trailing the McLarens in the drivers’ championship, did not expect a positive outing in Saudi Arabia. However, the Dutchman shockingly snatched the pole position from Oscar Piastri after lodging an impressive final lap in Q3. Still, the 27-year-old is doubtful of his chances of keeping the rivals at bay on Sunday.

Red Bull’s decline in performance has caused major rumors of Max Verstappen‘s early departure from the team. The 27-year-old is currently P3 in the drivers’ title after trailing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by 8 and 5 points, respectively. Moreover, Verstappen couldn’t amass any impressive results in his previous outing in Bahrain after finishing in just P6. Still, the reigning world champion secured a great turnaround in performance after shockingly scoring the pole position, similar to the Japanese GP.

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Max Verstappen has showcased strong performances at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and could fight for the victory on Sunday, especially after Lando Norris’ P10 start due to a collision. Mercedes’ George Russell and Piastri seem to be the closest competitors to the 27-year-old in terms of his ambitions for victory. Verstappen can still bring home his second victory of the 2025 season if he keeps up with his consistent performance.

Despite scoring the pole position with a great gap, the Dutchman does not expect any magical performances for the main race. Verstappen didn’t hesitate to accept that overcoming the rival’s pace would not be an easy task. The Red Bull star anticipates a ‘tough’ competition against the trailing drivers. Regardless, the 27-year-old assured that he would give it his all and aim for achieving the coveted race win to further cement his position in the drivers’ standings.

I think tomorrow in the race, it will be tough to keep them behind, but we’ll give it a good go.

Max Verstappen said in a post session interview

Max Verstappen claims he ‘did not expect’ to secure pole position in Jeddah

Verstappen has performed extremely well in all his previous outings at the Saudi Arabian GP. Notably, Max Verstappen has never finished below P2 in Jeddah since the circuit’s inception back in 2021. As such, the Dutchman’s pole position wasn’t much of a surprise for the fans. However, Red Bull’s RB21 seemed to be lacking in pace ever since the beginning of the race weekend.

Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Verstappen was unable to amass any impressive lap times over the practice sessions and hence did not have many hopes heading into the qualifying session. Even Yuki Tsunoda had a similar downfall in performance and wasn’t expecting a Q3 entry in Jeddah. Still, the Dutchman achieved pole position with his Japanese counterpart looking to score some good points on Sunday.

Verstappen accepted that he did not expect to end up on the pole position for the Saudi Arabian GP. The 27-year-old believed that the car’s pace was good enough to end up in a decent position, but definitely not the first row. Regardless, as depicted by the results, the reigning world champion would have a great shot at victory since the very beginning of the race.

I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here after FP2 as well.

Max Verstappen said in a post-qualifying interview

Despite Max Verstappen achieving a highly coveted pole position, Red Bull’s performance struggles continue. The team has allegedly shifted all its focus to the RB21 chassis of the 2025 season and not the newer chassis for the regulation changes in 2026. Hence, the team must put forth some notable improvements now to retain Verstappen in the squad.

The 27-year-old has continued to receive multiple lucrative offers, with many people claiming that he has already decided to jump ship. Only time will tell about how the future pans out for the four-time champion as he sets his sights on his fifth title.