Max Verstappen will start from third place in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Dutchman had to fear for a damaged gearbox due to the crash he had during qualifying, but there is no question of any damage. Erik van Haren reported this on Twitter.
Verstappen did everything he could during qualifying to improve on Lewis Hamilton's time and seemed to be succeeding. The Red Bull driver was almost at the finish line when he hit the wall hard. As a result, Verstappen was unable to continue and had to settle for third on the grid.
It could have been worse for the driver. The hard impact meant that it was uncertain whether the gearbox would hold up during the race. If the Austrian team decided to take the worst-case scenario and replace the gearbox, Red Bull could face a five-place grid penalty. Verstappen was told Sunday morning that this was not necessary.
Difficult task for Verstappen
The Dutchman will start the race behind Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Verstappen will try to overtake at least one of them at the start of the race to create an opportunity for an undercut.