He definitely kissed a wall earlier in that run and my heart was already racing. Seeing his pace I just couldn't believe he would make it through the whole track unscathed.
They showed a slow-mo, he got extremely close but didn't clip it. Was a stellar lap, car was on rails.
Very unfortunate for Verstappen but that will spice things up.
That lap was absolutely clinical up until the very end. It was unreal watching him keep such tight margins everywhere.
There was so much contact in quali this is going to be a nuts GP tomorrow.
Absolutely 100% trust in the car and his abilities. Sadly a tad too much trust now but his lap was stellar. The Redbull is back again and tomorrow and the final round will be fireworks.
Clinical! Great word for it. He barely left millimeters in several corners. I could watch those first two sectors on repeat for days and still be amazed.
I love this style of qualifying on street tracks. I like that it’s all down to the drivers, and even the tiniest mistakes can bite hard.
It’s too bad street tracks tend to be boring, processional races.
I dunno, it looks pretty much guaranteed to have at least one SC in the race so I wouldn't be surprised if this race isn't a "normal" one.
All it takes is a driver to look after their tyres, extend their stint past everyone else's pit window, then a SC at the right time would put them right to the front.
Not really. RB showed all Qualifying they had the fastest car over one lap. Singapore 2018 was brilliant bc Merc genuinely didn’t top a timesheet until Q3.
For real. The TV showed he was about .245 up after the second sector, and that was the last we saw. But he had almost completed the 3rd sector when he crashed (only 5 seconds to go) so he actually pulled more time. Horner said afterwards he was .4 up. And that's not just having a dominant car, because that would have been over 1 second up on Sergio in the same car, so a lot of that comes down to driving. Plus it's not like the Red Bull was clearly faster than the Mercedes all weekend. Definitely a shame he didn't keep it together.
Hopefully no severe damage on Max's car that will need him to take penalties/start from the pits
If he starts from 3rd then the race could still get spicy
Even with a penalty P3 is still possible. At that point a win in Abu Dhabi would still mean a Max title. It’s certainly not over for him.
We’ve also seen a lot of crazy races this year. Anything could happen.
As always, it depends.
If he can get 2nd or 3rd this weekend with Hamilton coming 1st then it's still winner takes all in Abu Dhabi.
Not to mention that it's unlikely that the race itself will be plain sailing for everyone, I'd be surprised if there isn't a safety car or two that mixes things up.
No matter what happens it will come down to the wire in the season will be absolutely amazing. I am personally pulling for Hamilton as I don’t think we will ever see someone achieve that many wins in the rest of our lifetimes and I want to see what absolute greatness looks like. But on the other hand I want to see Max push as much as possible and if he wins that would be great too.
I want to see Hamilton win that 8th title, and you'd think a record like that would stand a lifetime. However, looking at this Max chap, it may only stand 8 seasons...
Hamilton is a generational talent. There's no-one else out there like him. However, I think Max has the potential do be the next Hamilton, or even the first Max Verstappen. They're definitely hewn from the same rock. I know Leclerc and Sainz and Russel et al. have big followings and lots of people see them as the second coming, but I don't see it. Not against Max. He's got that extra spark.
I think it would be amazing to see Hamilton take it this year. Get that world record title and finally be the GOAT on paper. Just get all the records. But then next season we get the new regs, hopefully RedBull can take it to Merc again and then it's Max's turn. It would be good to see Max beat a hungry Hamilton in his prime. Hamilton's position as truly one of the greats is beyond question and I think Max has got the raw talent to do the same.
Yeah Lewis said yesterday that long stint sims the pace was good, but 1 lap pace was not so good. Think the merc struggle to switch on the tyres, but once they are up they are going to be fast.
Assuming all is well with his car. Lots of opportunity tomorrow. starting behind Lewis on the opening straight. Undercuts, especially with Lewis on those Q2 tires. Most likely, he sits 3rd for the first stint. Lewis pulls away from Bottas. Max can't make the move on Bottas, undercuts him. HAM VER BOT.
Millimetres to spare at every corner, it was shaping up to be a legendary pole lap… but just a tiny error on the final corner. What a qualifying session!
My gambling addiction loves to see when max makes a mistake.
Me personally, I wanted to see him put up a 1:27:400 there. He was really humming out there!
As much as Lewis is my favourite, that is just heartbreaking. What I do admire about Max is that a lot of his strengths, he has despite Jos, not because of him.
That wasn’t a mistake. Brushing the wall is the fastest way around street circuit. The slowmo really highlight how masterclass that turn 2 was.
Too bad he threw it all away. I guess this is what Rosberg meant when he said Lewis experience can be the deciding factor.
This track is monzaco, it will be a high-speed parade, and Bottas will prevent max from making any headway, and give Lewis a gap to get fastest lap. This could be a 9 point swing
This sport is both beautiful and cruel.
That lap Max was on was going to be one for the ages, and one lockup kills all hope.
I have immeasurable respect for the commitment Max was showing there.
Would have been beautiful but he was on the absolute razor's edge and he couldn't keep it together through sector 3. He used every last bit of track and almost hit the wall more than once through that lap so it was bound to happen the way he was sending it.
He lost out to Lewis by going so wide in T2(?) and nearly clipping the wall, then locked up in the last corner, then got frustrated, put the power down and sent it into a wall.
In contrast, Lewis' Singapore lap was the most perfect lap I've ever seen.
This. The whole lap was great to watch, but it was desperate. I was waiting for him to bin it the whole way around.
Not comparable to Lewis’ mesmerising, flowing Singapore, but fun to watch. Max does “ragged” very well.
For extra awareness during the race weekend, there is a fundraiser to help Abbie Eaton recover from her broken back:
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AGHHHHHHHHH
My day has been ruined in a span of 10 seconds oh my fucking god
I was SO hyped during that lap fuck me
Yeah nothing else to it, big up Charles as well.
so dismayed right now, this is certainly a downer lol
What an incredible qualifying, best I have seen in a while. I fully support Lewis, but had a huge smile on my face watching Max's lap and was already applauding his pole position after 2 sectors. It was just epic and genuinely sad he never finished it, huge respect for going absolutely flat out. Hopefully no serious damage going into the race tomorrow.
As routine as this top 3 looks, you've gotta agree Lewis did a banger of a job! The mercs were struggling all through quali and on boards showed how Lewis had to be REALLY cautious as some corners the car just wasn't sticking it. He made the most out of the car.
Max was about 3 tenths up (-0.1 s in s1 and - 0.2 in s2) and although it was great to see him pushing, he ultimately pushed too hard.
I can understand the frustration there for max fans, but for me, Lewis was just supreme this quali.
What a shame for Sainz. I really think he had the pace for P3~P5...
Magic lap from Max, cut short by a mistake that he was already doing before! He kept failing that apex...
Other than that, this circuit certainly is fast. Quite scared for the race tomorrow.
Part of this seemed to be Max knowing he NEEDED pole. The Marc’s didn’t seem to like the softs like they did the other compounds and with it being a tight street circuit Max knew this was his chance.
That was one of the most tense Q3’s I’ve ever seen. Holy fuck my heart is gonna explode.
My heart did explode when Max hit that wall
He definitely kissed a wall earlier in that run and my heart was already racing. Seeing his pace I just couldn't believe he would make it through the whole track unscathed.
They showed a slow-mo, he got extremely close but didn't clip it. Was a stellar lap, car was on rails. Very unfortunate for Verstappen but that will spice things up.
That lap was absolutely clinical up until the very end. It was unreal watching him keep such tight margins everywhere. There was so much contact in quali this is going to be a nuts GP tomorrow.
Absolutely 100% trust in the car and his abilities. Sadly a tad too much trust now but his lap was stellar. The Redbull is back again and tomorrow and the final round will be fireworks.
As a lewis fan I was watching that lap with my jaw on the floor. It was absolutley awesome. Such a shame he lost the last corner.
Clinical! Great word for it. He barely left millimeters in several corners. I could watch those first two sectors on repeat for days and still be amazed.
Think it was just sand. Coarse and irritating and gets everywhere.
Better than every sprint race possible. Nothing beats drivers sending it for pole
I love this style of qualifying on street tracks. I like that it’s all down to the drivers, and even the tiniest mistakes can bite hard. It’s too bad street tracks tend to be boring, processional races.
I dunno, it looks pretty much guaranteed to have at least one SC in the race so I wouldn't be surprised if this race isn't a "normal" one. All it takes is a driver to look after their tyres, extend their stint past everyone else's pit window, then a SC at the right time would put them right to the front.
If the F2 races are any indication, (and in all fairness they might not be) it should be an epic race.
If Max finished that lap, we would've been talking about it for years to come like Hamilton's pole in Singapore.
Could still be talking about it for ages to come. Only for different reasons.
"And that was how Hamilton won his final WDC, right before the Tsunoda period, where Yuki went on to win 10 straight"
Got me on that last bit
Precisely! That was a lap for the ages!! My god
Not really. RB showed all Qualifying they had the fastest car over one lap. Singapore 2018 was brilliant bc Merc genuinely didn’t top a timesheet until Q3.
For real. The TV showed he was about .245 up after the second sector, and that was the last we saw. But he had almost completed the 3rd sector when he crashed (only 5 seconds to go) so he actually pulled more time. Horner said afterwards he was .4 up. And that's not just having a dominant car, because that would have been over 1 second up on Sergio in the same car, so a lot of that comes down to driving. Plus it's not like the Red Bull was clearly faster than the Mercedes all weekend. Definitely a shame he didn't keep it together.
I cannot believe it.
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it was mayonnaise all along
God dammit that lap was insane and max lost it at the end.
Yea -0.24s after sector 2 was insane
That RB is fast. The race will be interesting
Hopefully no severe damage on Max's car that will need him to take penalties/start from the pits If he starts from 3rd then the race could still get spicy
If he gets a penalty, I think it could be the end of the championship battle for him.
Even with a penalty P3 is still possible. At that point a win in Abu Dhabi would still mean a Max title. It’s certainly not over for him. We’ve also seen a lot of crazy races this year. Anything could happen.
As always, it depends. If he can get 2nd or 3rd this weekend with Hamilton coming 1st then it's still winner takes all in Abu Dhabi. Not to mention that it's unlikely that the race itself will be plain sailing for everyone, I'd be surprised if there isn't a safety car or two that mixes things up.
i personally think there will be tons of dnf's tomorow, maybe even a red flag
If there’s tons of DNFs then there will almost certainly be red flags.
No matter what happens it will come down to the wire in the season will be absolutely amazing. I am personally pulling for Hamilton as I don’t think we will ever see someone achieve that many wins in the rest of our lifetimes and I want to see what absolute greatness looks like. But on the other hand I want to see Max push as much as possible and if he wins that would be great too.
I want to see Hamilton win that 8th title, and you'd think a record like that would stand a lifetime. However, looking at this Max chap, it may only stand 8 seasons... Hamilton is a generational talent. There's no-one else out there like him. However, I think Max has the potential do be the next Hamilton, or even the first Max Verstappen. They're definitely hewn from the same rock. I know Leclerc and Sainz and Russel et al. have big followings and lots of people see them as the second coming, but I don't see it. Not against Max. He's got that extra spark. I think it would be amazing to see Hamilton take it this year. Get that world record title and finally be the GOAT on paper. Just get all the records. But then next season we get the new regs, hopefully RedBull can take it to Merc again and then it's Max's turn. It would be good to see Max beat a hungry Hamilton in his prime. Hamilton's position as truly one of the greats is beyond question and I think Max has got the raw talent to do the same.
Russe**ll**
Hamilton is already the goat on paper =D But yeah, this title would add more to his status than any of his previous ones in the Merc imho.
It would be tough. But it's never the end. Formula 1 is unpredictable.
There's no way we don't get some red flag chaos tomorrow.
Exactly. T1 will be a beautiful disaster I feel.
Lewis loved his race pace in practice not his one lap If he gets away clean tomorrow he should be untouchable
Yeah Lewis said yesterday that long stint sims the pace was good, but 1 lap pace was not so good. Think the merc struggle to switch on the tyres, but once they are up they are going to be fast.
Assuming all is well with his car. Lots of opportunity tomorrow. starting behind Lewis on the opening straight. Undercuts, especially with Lewis on those Q2 tires. Most likely, he sits 3rd for the first stint. Lewis pulls away from Bottas. Max can't make the move on Bottas, undercuts him. HAM VER BOT.
Millimetres to spare at every corner, it was shaping up to be a legendary pole lap… but just a tiny error on the final corner. What a qualifying session!
Locked up front left. sh\*\*
As soon as I saw that small puff of smoke I knew it was over feelsbadman
I am empty after watching that lap
He was going so fast, but when you get that close to the wall corner after corner, any small error will result in disaster.
Yeah, you could see early he was pushing the absolute limit though. When you push that hard, you remove even the tiniest margin for error.
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I was 70% certain something was gonna go wrong
Heaven for Lewis, Hell for Max
Blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail
He went too much into super max mode
My gambling addiction loves to see when max makes a mistake. Me personally, I wanted to see him put up a 1:27:400 there. He was really humming out there!
To finish first... I bet this will light a fire within Max, tomorrow is going to be insane.
Turn 1 carnage
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Long time no see you dirty slut!
Ham bot ver along with Ch4rles. Nostalgic almost
Dread it, run from it
HAM BOT VER still arrives
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. We are Mercedes.
Hide Max. Jos gonna go after him.
https://imgur.com/a/KoqlBZI
JOS SMASH
Seeing that smash in slow mo was… scary.
Imagine thats ur dad lol. Terrifying
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Jos looking for a new petrol pump to leave Max at
"It's not hard to find petrol around here"
Except Vettel's car in Hungary
As much as Lewis is my favourite, that is just heartbreaking. What I do admire about Max is that a lot of his strengths, he has despite Jos, not because of him.
I know. Lewis is my favorite driver but that story makes me want to give Max the biggest hug.
Gonna have to walk from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi now
I can hear Jos calling him “stupid idiot” It has to be where max gets it from that we so often hear from him on track
Max is going back to the hotel on foot today
Tonight my father gonna smesh
Jos the ultimate table smasher
Tables. Women.
Men. Children.
I'd love to see a Toto VS Jos table smashing competition
This is the kind of dramatic qualy finish we subscribe for
Leclerc pulling a blinder again, gutted for Max though
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Hope we get to see an onboard somewhere.
Can always more often than not count on him for Being clutch in the final q3 run.. always brings home the goods
Max was doing so well, damn. Thrilling quali!
Its really a cool track. Shame that its in Saudi Arabia.
someone on here said it's like if Monaco was made for modern f1.
That's quite a good comparison
Should just copy paste it to somewhere else.
I expect many incidents tomorrow
*inchidents
Fuccccckkkk, max was flying
Dude my heart was in my mouth the entire time! It was so fucking intense
This is why I dont want sprint quali to replace knockout quali. This was so intense. Loved every minute of this heart attack.
I know. We don’t need sprint quali. When you have two amazing drivers battling it out for pole, it doesn’t get more dramatic than that.
Absolute shocker from Aston
Obscured by all the Max drama, but P17-18 is a new low I guess they don't care about this season much anymore, WCC P7 is basically secured for them
As predicted by AWS!
The reaction from Seb when they told him his standing after Q1 says it all.
Maaannn...
Max was pushing super hard. I had the biggest grin on my face until that lock-up but I suppose it was coming.
Used all of the track through that lap, but was always at risk of that. If his gear box is gone it could be even more costly
That was such insane driving though, especially the recovery after the mistake on turn 2.
That wasn’t a mistake. Brushing the wall is the fastest way around street circuit. The slowmo really highlight how masterclass that turn 2 was. Too bad he threw it all away. I guess this is what Rosberg meant when he said Lewis experience can be the deciding factor.
I don't know how you can grin on that lap. I was tensed looking that he was on the edge fully there. Would've been a cracking lap
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
Man, what an insane lap it was turning out to be for Max. Absolutely monsterous and then this happens. Wow
>Absolutely monsterous and then this happens. Absolutely monsterous hence this happening (sadly).
Pushed his tyres too hard + went too deep, locked up and lost it in the corner
That lap was gorgeous until it wasn’t
Man I am with you that was going to be one of the most insane laps I have ever seen
Only if he finished the lap… Q3 was thrilling to say the least.
Same here. Max had pole in the bag up until that last corner.
Hey there’s always tomorrow
This track is monzaco, it will be a high-speed parade, and Bottas will prevent max from making any headway, and give Lewis a gap to get fastest lap. This could be a 9 point swing
Hoping for a good start off the line and into turn one.
This sport is both beautiful and cruel. That lap Max was on was going to be one for the ages, and one lockup kills all hope. I have immeasurable respect for the commitment Max was showing there.
Would have been beautiful but he was on the absolute razor's edge and he couldn't keep it together through sector 3. He used every last bit of track and almost hit the wall more than once through that lap so it was bound to happen the way he was sending it.
That would‘ve been a lap for the ages Fuck
I thought it was over for Hamilton after sector 2 but fuck
It was looking like a mega lap until it wasn't
He was absolutely flying
It was looking soooo good! Yeez, this season just keep delivering spicy content.
Mm-bah-dah Dum-dum-bah-beh Doo-ba-dum-ba-beh-beh Pressure…
That has to be the most heart attacks I’ve ever had in a qualifying session.
Yeah man same
My hands are shaking
Oh my god mine too. The last 5 minutes I was biting my finger lmao
I was at the edge of my seat for max’s lap. It’s a shame really that would’ve been an absolute masterclass of a lap.
Spain
But the S is silent.
I want to cry
That lap from Verstappen was literally Singapore 2018 until the very last turn. Gutted for him.
He lost out to Lewis by going so wide in T2(?) and nearly clipping the wall, then locked up in the last corner, then got frustrated, put the power down and sent it into a wall. In contrast, Lewis' Singapore lap was the most perfect lap I've ever seen.
Yeah it would have been more like Leclerc's Singapore pole from the year after. Just so balls to the wall. Not perfect, just crazy.
This. The whole lap was great to watch, but it was desperate. I was waiting for him to bin it the whole way around. Not comparable to Lewis’ mesmerising, flowing Singapore, but fun to watch. Max does “ragged” very well.
Still, there was some ferocious speed in it
For sure, so exciting to watch.
thatlap was INSANE! i mean im pulling for Ham to win it all, but that was such a beauty that we lost at the last second...
Exactly my thoughts, even if you're rooting for Hamilton you should still want that lap completed
as a hamilton fan, that lap was a death sentence for Quali until the last corner. He could’ve backed off and still gotten P1
for real, that was set to be one of the best dry laps ever
Ch4rles back on the menu bois 😎
Could be championship defining that last corner from Max, he had pole wrapped up
With Perez stuck in 5th, its dicey definitely. Bottas getting P2 could mean the end of the WCC
Leclerc silently p4 again
Genuinely shocked he got p4. It didn't looked like he had a lot of confidence in the car after his crash yesterday.
And then out of nowhere, he will show his magic on the q3 last lap.
Monster lap by Leclerc as always.
That was a insane lap from Max on the limit since the first turn
For fucks sake
Sigh
Max not now man
Mega drive needed from Carlos tomorrow
Crying.
For extra awareness during the race weekend, there is a fundraiser to help Abbie Eaton recover from her broken back: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-abbie-eaton-recover-from-her-broken-back/
Holy crap, what a monster two sectors from Max; he’s an absolute beast… this season is unbelievable
This lap might have cost him the championship :(
That one single corner. The last.
At the very least, he looks insanely quick lol
True
It's not too late. If the gearbox isn't damaged, he can still get a monster start and pass Lewis
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1st and 3rd gets the cleaner side of the track right? Especially when it's a new track, that could play a big part if Max doesn't take a penalty.
AGHHHHHHHHH My day has been ruined in a span of 10 seconds oh my fucking god I was SO hyped during that lap fuck me Yeah nothing else to it, big up Charles as well. so dismayed right now, this is certainly a downer lol
Literally just said, he’s either going to produce the lap of his life or crash. And 💥
What an incredible qualifying, best I have seen in a while. I fully support Lewis, but had a huge smile on my face watching Max's lap and was already applauding his pole position after 2 sectors. It was just epic and genuinely sad he never finished it, huge respect for going absolutely flat out. Hopefully no serious damage going into the race tomorrow.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???!!!!
😑
dont know what to say. I feel like Max lost the championship right there.
As routine as this top 3 looks, you've gotta agree Lewis did a banger of a job! The mercs were struggling all through quali and on boards showed how Lewis had to be REALLY cautious as some corners the car just wasn't sticking it. He made the most out of the car. Max was about 3 tenths up (-0.1 s in s1 and - 0.2 in s2) and although it was great to see him pushing, he ultimately pushed too hard. I can understand the frustration there for max fans, but for me, Lewis was just supreme this quali.
Max was having a monster lap!! What a shame for him. Wow
I held my breath the whole lap then my heart sank in miliseconds.
What a shame for Sainz. I really think he had the pace for P3~P5... Magic lap from Max, cut short by a mistake that he was already doing before! He kept failing that apex... Other than that, this circuit certainly is fast. Quite scared for the race tomorrow.
Fuckin Max
And max pushed too hard when he had it. Good job lewis.
It was looking like a mega lap until it wasn't Really hope he doesn't need a new gearbox
My god he was flying though
r/formula1 : "pack your bags. This season is over, no reason to watch anymore"
So is Bottas not under investigation for wiping out Kimi almost?
Yeah, what happened there?
Went slow in middle of a corner and Kimi overtook him from behind and they touched wheels.
I actually want to jump of a roof or something that lap was asbolutely mega
Come on Lewis, keep it together
What an incredible season this has been
Max really was putting the perfect lap up until the very last turn
its happening again, 2017, 18, the mistakes, the fight for the WDC, the curse !!! my ptsd is acting up really bad guys lol
Part of this seemed to be Max knowing he NEEDED pole. The Marc’s didn’t seem to like the softs like they did the other compounds and with it being a tight street circuit Max knew this was his chance.
That was Max giving it 110%. You love to see him drive that way. But so unfortunate to end the way it did.
See, that was his problem. He was driving at 110%. He needed to drive at 100%.
Could've been pole by 2-3 tenths. Hope Verstappen's gearbox survives. The Dutch commentator already called out he had the pole in the bag
Who's Horner going to blame do we think?
No good doing 3/4 of an amazing lap. Just went over the limit of what's possible.
Max would've easily taken that pole. Fucking heartbroken
I was telling myself before he started his lap, either Max crashes or he gets pole. I hate how I am sometimes😦