Verstappen: The car came alive in the night

The defending Drivers' Champion pipped both McLaren drivers to pole around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. His time of a 1:27.294 is a new record around the sweeping street circuit, and was just one hundredth of a second quicker than McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Mercedes' George Russell completed the top three on the Saturday, just over a tenth behind Verstappen. The other McLaren of Lando Norris will start the Grand Prix from tenth on the grid after crashing his MCL39 at the Turn 4/5 chicane.

Verstappen started last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from the head of the field, and subsequently won the race. He will be hoping to do the same this year and retake the lead of the Drivers' Standings.

Speaking immediately after Qualifying, Verstappen admitted that he didn't expect to challenge for pole position in Saudi Arabia. He said: "Very happy. I definitely didn't expect to be on pole here after FP3 and looking at how the whole weekend was.

"The car came alive in the night. We made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me and, around here, a qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls, you need to really nail it," added the Dutchman.

However, Verstappen conceded that it will be difficult to keep the likes of Piastri, Russell and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc behind him during the Grand Prix. He continued: "It's really satisfying. To be first here in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow even though I think in the race it will be difficult to keep them behind.

"But we will give it a good go. We will do our best," he concluded.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner echoed Verstappen's worries, stating: "What we’ve seen this weekend, the McLaren is very, very quick, particularly in race trim.

"So I think we’re going to have a hell of a fight on our hands to try to keep Oscar behind us. But we’re starting in the best possible position, so great to be going into it on pole," Horner added.

Can Verstappen make it two wins in a row at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? The race commences Sunday 20 April at 18:00 BST (20:00 local time).