Max Verstappen’s stunning qualifying save at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a moment of magic

Some magic from Max Verstappen in the final qualifying of the 2024 F1 season

Max Verstappen is among the world’s best race car drivers.

His resume speaks for itself, as Verstappen clinched his fourth straight Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship this year, in what might be his most impressive season yet. While Red Bull’s RB20, their challenger for the 2024 season, was not the dominant force its predecessor was, Verstappen still managed a nearly flawless season, banking nine grand prix victories. But for a DNF at the Australian Grand Prix, where his RB20 suffered a brake duct failure in the early laps, Verstappen’s worst Grand Prix finish was a P6, at both the Canadian Grand Prix and the Mexico City Grand Prix.

However, if you needed further proof of his talent, you got that Saturday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

On the first set of push laps in Q3 Verstappen put his RB20 on provisional pole. That is not noteworthy, but how Verstappen got there certainly is:

Coming out of the final corner Verstappen nearly loses the RB20 but keeps the throttle down as he regains control. Not only does he keep the car out of the wall, but he stays within track limits and manages to set the fastest lap of the session, to that point.

While he was eventually beaten for pole position by Lando Norris and is slated to start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in P5, this was a magical moment from Verstappen. This is the kind of thing you see on a video game with the difficulty set to the lowest level possible, yet here is Verstappen doing it during Q3 of an actual F1 qualifying session.

Former Drivers’ Champion Nico Rosberg perhaps said it best on Sky Sports:

“Every other driver would have been in the wall there, by the way. That car was gone. That was some Max magic to save that.”

Max magic, indeed.