For Max Verstappen, qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP turned out to be a disappointment. After all, he had to deal with a technical problem in Q2 and will have to start the race in fifteenth. After all, Verstappen is determined to fight back during the race.
“The drive shaft is broken, so that’s it,” Verstappen said afterwards, according to his official website. “Coming out of turn ten I had been full throttle for a while. Suddenly I lost the drive shaft. I can’t do anything else now. Very annoying that this is happening now. We’ve had a really good weekend so far. Every session went very well.”
“It will be a bit more difficult to drive forward. But now it’s all about scoring points. Of course I would have preferred to be more at the front, but we can’t change that now. So now you just have to accept it and try to make the best of it tomorrow.”
Despite the technical problem, Verstappen is not worried, although Verstappen also realizes that technical problems should not occur too often.
“No, it’s not something I’m worried about. But of course it shouldn’t happen. So we have to analyze why it did happen. Now we have to take the car apart and try to find the cause,” said Verstappen, who is then asked if he can repeat his race from last year. Then Verstappen still won the race from P14.
“Nothing is impossible. I think the speed is there, so that is of course positive,” Verstappen looks ahead to the race. “I just think it is a bit more difficult to overtake here than at Spa and not to lose too much time. But like I said, you never know. Everything is possible on this track. We’ve seen a lot of crazy things. But if we stay realistic, it will be difficult. A win is difficult, but we never give up.”