Credits: Imago

Max Verstappen secured the pole position in Jeddah ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP and is widely expected to be the winner. Contrary to drivers wanting to get a good night’s sleep before a big race, Verstappen decided to stay up and play games till the morning. Some would call what Verstappen was doing, a part of his race preparation.

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Verstappen was playing iRacing and streaming the same. Users on social media were baffled at the Dutchman, who also sounded sick to some. Nini, a user on X, pointed out that Verstappen sounds “like he has a cold”. 

He was playing the virtual racing game till 4 AM in the morning, which means he effectively pulled off an all-nighter. The Red Bull bosses will be hoping that the three-time world champion got at least a few hours of sleep before reporting to the paddock in the afternoon.

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Verstappen, however, admitted previously that he uses sim-racing to prepare for races and stay sharp. So Verstappen could have been awake till the morning, warming up for the race in Jeddah.

Regardless, it doesn’t change the pre-race predictions. Verstappen is still expected to be the winner of the Saudi Arabian GP. Before the Bahrain GP too, Verstappen was playing games late into the night. Still, he dominated the opening round, winning by a 20+ second gap to second-placed Sergio Perez.

Max Verstappen’s first pole position in Saudi Arabia

The 2024 Saudi Arabian GP will be the fourth installment of the race in Jeddah. Verstappen lost on the pole in 2021 after colliding with the barriers on his final push lap, and it went to Lewis Hamilton instead. His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez got P1 in 2022 and 2023.

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On Friday, however, Verstappen was unstoppable, and he put up a brilliant lap to secure P1. He will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P2. Perez meanwhile, will start the race from P3.

Verstappen has won the Saudi Arabian GP once before, in 2022. That year, he put up a brilliant display, fighting neck to neck with Leclerc, in a battle for the ages. The next year, Perez won the outing, and Verstappen will be hoping for things to go his way again this year.