Max Verstappen and Christian Horner have talked through the final lap in Qualifying this afternoon, which should have granted the 24-year-old pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman was on a flying lap, using every inch of the track, as he stormed towards the finishing line.
However, coming up through turn 26 of the 27 at Jeddah’s new street track, Verstappen locked up at the final braking point, and the rear of his Red Bull hit the wall.
After the collision Red Bull said it could potentially have been the “lap of the year” landing him in pole position for 2021‘s penultimate race.
Speaking after the session this evening, Verstappen said: “I was on a really good lap until I lost it on the final corner, I thought I had approached it in the same way I had been doing all session, but I lost the rear.
“I’m upset with myself and it is, of course, disappointing but there are two races to go and anything can happen.
“We had a good car in qualifying and everything was coming together which gives me hope going into the race tomorrow, also knowing that the pace was there today.
“I hope we can follow well tomorrow and if that’s the case, there should be some good opportunities and we should have a good shot.”
Meanwhile, Christian Horner added: “It was looking like the lap of the year up until that moment.
“It’s a great shame as it was a mighty, mighty lap and he was pulling something very special out of the bag.
“Max will be frustrated I am sure as he knows what a good lap it was, but he just needs to put it behind him now. He’s still P3 on the grid and he just needs to have a good start, as anything could happen in this race.
“Unfortunately, we are on the back foot now, so we’ll get the car back and hope the damage isn’t too bad.
“Grid position on any street circuit is crucial and it’s going to be very hard to overtake here, so it’s all going to be about strategy and Checo could have a major part to play in the race.”
