The reigning World Champion demonstrated impressive pace during the two practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, securing the top spot in one session and third place in the other.
Max Verstappen is eager to enhance the performance of his Red Bull car, especially for the qualifying session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Despite leading the pack in Free Practice 1 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Verstappen faced tougher competition in the evening session, where he finished behind Fernando Alonso and George Russell.
During his initial attempt on Soft tires, Verstappen lagged behind Alonso’s time by over half a second. Eventually, he ended up 0.331 seconds adrift from the Aston Martin driver, with Russell securing a slight advantage over the World Champion.
Verstappen is determined to secure his first pole position in Jeddah, aiming to overcome past setbacks. He endured a crash in 2021 and narrowly missed out to Charles Leclerc in 2022.
Additionally, a drive-shaft failure during Q2 last year resulted in a disappointing 15th-place grid start. Verstappen emphasizes the need for improvements to ensure a competitive position on the grid.
Verstappen elaborated following the conclusion of Free Practice 2; “It went quite well in general.
“They prepared the track quite well because it was not really dirty. The speed was quite good and overall we learned a lot.
“There are always things that can be improved, such as the speed over one lap, He said.
“Also I think the others used a bit more power, like in Bahrain, but I’m quite satisfied with the long runs.
“Others might be a little stronger over one lap, but our car really comes alive on the long run.”
