If you haven’t been in a Formula 1 car in recent times and you have to pick up the pace at Jeddah Corniche, something is not going to go right. With that impression, Magnussen, a Haas driver after the departure of the Russian Mazepin, got out of the car; or Hulkenberg, who replaces Vettel for COVID. The Saudi track officially has more than twenty corners, but in reality there are only six braking points, it is driven practically all the time above 250 kilometers per hour and the pilots define it as “a violent roller coaster”, “a washing machine”, according to the German from Aston Martin, who ends the necks of those who have not trained enough, especially for those who a few weeks ago had not planned to participate in the Saudi Arabian GP.
Kevin Magnussen, parking car 10th in Q3 on Saturday, took the blame: “We have to be happy with Q3 but the car was better than it was for 10th. My neck was completely broken in Q3, he couldn’t hold his head up and he couldn’t steer well. There was half a second there, a fifth place was possible, and also my best lap was on a used tire. The team deserved fifth place but I didn’t give it to them”. The Dane, by the way, reassured after Mick Schumacher’s accident, who will not race this Sunday because it is not worth the effort to repair so many damages to the car: “I They said it’s fine and it’s incredible, seeing his accident, but the safety of these cars is enormous and Now you walk out of a car like that. I was making a great qualifying and I was going to make a great result.”
Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg lamented not being “able to do a full lap” that would allow him to save the Q1 cut because of his physical condition. He was 18th, although at least he wins the position of Mick. “It was fun, qualifying is always fun but short. I wasn’t able to do a full lap. I haven’t raced in a long time until Bahrain and the challenge of the race is huge for me. I hope to survive and finish the race.” said the Formula 1 gold reserve.
From the first Mexican pole and Hamilton disaster
Ahead, another world. All things being equal, in 2021, Checo only beat Verstappen once in qualifying all season. It was in Ímola, the Mexican came second and Max, third. In Saudi Arabia, Sergio Pérez overtook the world champion by one lap to sign the first pole position of his sports career in his 214th grand prix, which is also the first achieved by Mexico in the history of Formula 1. “What a turn, amazing”, The Red Bull driver said proudly when he got out of the car: “I could do a thousand more laps and I don’t think I could beat it. We didn’t expect to be at the level of Ferrari in this qualifying, but I hope we can beat them in the race”.
Verstappen, meanwhile, did not drop out of the top-three in qualifying for the whole of last year, apart from two grid penalties in Russia and Qatar. In Jeddah Corniche, at the first change, he was fourth behind his partner and the two Ferraris. Although he should not be worried: his great rival for the title until Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton, was eliminated in Q1. The Englishman said after getting out of the Mercedes that he didn’t have a “rear end” and that he considers “leaving from the pit lane” because that way they could check the car’s set-up. “Many things can happen, but I apologize to my team, They’ve worked so hard and when you don’t deliver, it’s disgusting.”
