F1 News
Verstappen gets respect for performance: "He gave everything".
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen was doing a great lap during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when it came to a brutal end. Fernando Alonso followed the moment live with Ziggo Sport and could not suppress his disbelief.
The Dutchman did everything he could on Saturday evening to improve on Lewis Hamilton's time. He therefore took the necessary risks, and twice it almost went wrong. Both times it looked like Verstappen would end up in the wall, but he could narrowly avoid it. "That was really close," Alonso reacted in front of the camera.
Then he tried to continue the interview with Jack Plooij, but this was not as simple as expected. He kept his eyes halfway to Verstappen and saw how the leader in the World Championship drove into the wall just before the finish line. Although Alonso was visibly shaken, he had uplifting words for Verstappen. "He gave everything. The race is tomorrow, not today."
Alonso starts from thirteenth spot
Alonso himself could be less satisfied with his qualifying. The Spaniard didn't make it past Q2 and had to settle for thirteenth on the grid. His team mate Esteban Ocon did better, setting the ninth fastest time of 1:28:647, almost three tenths of a second faster than Alonso. Despite his performance the Alpine driver remains confident of a good result.