A Verstappen fightback, Alonso poised for victory - What the tantalising Saudi GP has in store

Qualifying for Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix delivered in more ways than one, as well as a disappointment or two that could only translate into a spicy race.

WRAP | F1 qualifying

The two biggest stories came from the Red Bull stable, where Max Verstappen had to retire from qualifying, and Sergio Perez capitalised on his teammate's misfortunes to seal pole position.

The qualifying hour was an exciting one, and managed to set the race up very well.

1. Verstappen's valour can get him on the podium

The nature of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is not very forgiving. The slightest mistake can lead to immense misfortunes, but the brave will be rewarded for showing nerves of steel. Throughout the weekend until his exit from qualifying, Verstappen was the driver to beat and virtually had pole position sealed with plenty of performance to spare.

But the driveshaft issue left him in 15th place for the race, bar any further penalties if the team decides to replace items on his power unit.

Given Verstappen's superior pace to the rest of the grid, it's not far-fetched to see him on the podium when the race ends. Bar Perez, Verstappen easily has more than a second on any driver around the Jeddah street circuit, and he could make a real impact throughout the 50-lap race.

Heck, we won't discount him winning if the opportunity presents itself.

Max will start way back in 15th after this issue in qualifying ??Where will he finish on Sunday?#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/JzVCHFsKvX

2. Alonso for the win?

Now, this is a bit of an ask for Alonso because his Aston Martin is not yet on Red Bull's pace. The AMR23 is the second-quickest car on the grid, but the RB19 is virtually peerless, hindered only by reliability issues (as we've seen with