JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Dec 5 – World championship leader Max Verstappen will begin Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from third place on the grid after his Red Bull team successfully repaired his car following a crash in qualifying.
There were fears that his gearbox may have been damaged in Saturday’s smash and would need replacing, which would have cost the Dutchman a five-place penalty on the grid.
“It has passed all the tests we would normally do so we have to believe in our measurements and our tools,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner before the start of the race.
“We have to go for it, Max has been driving beautifully, just a shame to not convert that (into a pole position) but there is a lot of racing to be done.”
Verstappen is eight points clear of world champion Lewis Hamilton who begins the penultimate race of the season on pole position alongside his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
The Dutchman can claim his first world title if he wins the race and Hamilton finishes outside the top six.
