F1 | Mercedes, Toto Wolff's team conquers the front row: "What a crazy qualifying"

Toto Wolff's team secures the front row in Jeddah. Already on Friday, Lewis Hamilton had proven to be the strongest, while in FP3 Max Verstappen made his presence known, returning to the attack, determined to win pole position. And the first position would have belonged to him, with that lap that was about to become one of the most iconic in the history of Formula 1. The Dutchman, however, did not finish that lap, but stopped his Red Bull on the track after touching the wall. Lewis Hamilton thus takes pole, the second in a row, with Valtteri Bottas immediately following. The two will have to defend themselves from Verstappen, in third place, and from Charles Leclerc's Ferrari in fourth. Bottas' position is once again strategic: with Perez in fifth position, Max will find himself alone, at the front, fighting for both world championship rankings. It is not yet clear how much the Jeddah track lends itself to overtaking, but it will certainly be a race not to be missed.

"What a crazy qualification! We expected to be stronger today, we have a fast car and we thought it would adapt well to these high speed corners, but like so many times this season, we were caught by surprise again – said team principal Toto Wolff – Austin was supposed to be our track, but it didn't work out that way and then suddenly we're fast in Brazil, it's incredible. It was important to continue attacking and we came out of it by taking the front row, a big advantage for tomorrow. There's a brutal energy that runs through the entire team. We look ahead and keep pushing, in the debrief or in the pits there is no need to talk, the energy is palpable and it is clear how excited everyone is".