How Red Bull used 1000 IQ tactic to get Max Verstappen pole position despite having slower car

Red Bull have been spotted using a genius tactic to help Max Verstappen secure pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Heading into the first qualifying session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday evening, the overriding feeling was that it would be either Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris who would achieve pole.

That was due to McLaren's dominance in the practice sessions and the fact that they clearly have the far superior car when compared to the rest of the paddock.

However, during the final qualifying session, Norris crashed, which opened the door for the likes of Verstappen and Mercedes star George Russell to challenge Piastri.

Having clocked a time of 1:27:304, it looked like Piastri would start from P1 on Sunday's main race.

However, Verstappen showed exactly why he is a four-time world champion as he topped the time sheet with a stunning lap time of 1:27:294, clinching another pole position in Saudi Arabia.

After the session, it was revealed that Red Bull deployed a genius tactic to help the Dutchman.

As per Formula Aerodynamic on Instagram, it was spotted that Verstappen received a tow from teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

A tow is when a driver benefits from being behind another car, gaining a better performance due to lower drag and better air flow.

This was something McLaren were not able to do as they only had one car running in Q3 after Norris crashed out.

Reacting to the stunning pole lap, Verstappen said: "I definitely didn't expect to be on pole here after FP3 and looking at how the whole weekend was.

"The car came alive in the night. We made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive. The grip was coming to me and around here, a qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls - you need to really nail it."

He added: "It's really satisfying. To be first here in qualifying is of course the best position for tomorrow even though I think in the race it will be difficult to keep them behind. But we will give it a good go. We will do our best."

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix starting grid (Top 10):

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. George Russell, Mercedes
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
6. Carlos Sainz, Williams
7. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
8. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
9. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
10. Lando Norris, McLaren