"Lewis Hamilton's juju is real": Max Verstappen suffering an engine issue sends F1 fans into a frenzy

Max Verstappen had to retire from the qualifying session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after facing an engine issue during Q2.

Unlike what Red Bull were expecting, the weekend at Jeddah quickly fell apart as Verstappen had to turn down his hotlap during qualifying. Although it seemed as if the team was trying to fix the issue in a hurry (only six minutes remained in Q2 after the car was brought into the garage), Verstappen was soon seen getting out of his car, confirming his retirement from the session.

Verstappen displayed incredible pace throughout the weekend as he topped all three free practice sessions and like much of the F1 world, fans were expecting the Dutchman to comfortably secure pole position and a race win. However, things didn't quite work out for the two-time reigning world champion.

Max Verstappen to probably face a tough start to the race in Jeddah

Red Bull looked extremely strong throughout the weekend in Jeddah and while Max Verstappen was out on yet another hotlap, there seemed to be a major issue with either his engine or his gearbox.

After the Dutchman shifted up to the seventh gear, there was a sudden jump in his engine revs and he had to pull his car back to the garage.

Verstappen will now have to start the race in P15. Ahead of him will be Valtteri Bottas in his Alfa Romeo, and Yuki Tsunoda will start beside him on P16 in the AlphaTauri.

Although the start of the race might be tough for Max Verstappen, there is a good chance that he might be able to gain places during the race. The circuit is fast-paced and the Dutchman can go full throttle for the most part, which will give him and his RB19 an opportunity to out-power other cars on the straights.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez clinched pole position, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in second. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso will start the race in Jeddah third on the grid.

However, Leclerc, who qualified in P2, has a 10-place grid penalty, meaning he will start the race closer to Verstappen in P12.

About the author

Gunaditya is one of Sportskeeda’s more experienced F1 and NASCAR journalists, having authored over 2,500 posts that have garnered over 4 million reads. He has been in this field for over four years and holds a degree in journalism.

When it comes to reporting, he is extremely meticulous with his research and tries his best to analyze every topic in its entirety before filing his story. Gunaditya does so by closely following veterans in the motorsports journalism arena and attempts to understand perspectives without personal bias to ensure his stories are accurate and reliable.

He is an old-schooler with respect to F1 as his favorite driver is Michael Schumacher due to the legendary driver’s adrenaline-fueled racing style, aggressive approach, and the resilience he showed early in his career. Understandably, his favorite constructor is Ferrari.

Apart from F1, Gunaditya's interest lies in football, and he is a keen fan of FC Barcelona and Argentina, and is also immensely interested in art and films. One can say he wears many hats, as he is also a musician.

Know More