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

Max Verstappen is one of the world's best race car drivers.

Verstappen's resume speaks for itself this year, as he won his fourth consecutive F1 Drivers' Championship in what may be his most impressive season yet. Red Bull's RB20 challenger for the 2024 season wasn't as dominant as its predecessor, but Verstappen still had a near-perfect season, racking up nine Grand Prix wins. However, at the Australian Grand Prix, his RB20 suffered a brake duct failure in the early laps, resulting in a DNF, while Verstappen's worst Grand Prix finishes were sixth at both the Canadian and Mexico City GPs.

But if he needed further proof of his talent, he got it that Saturday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

During the first set of push laps in Q3, Verstappen put his RB20 on provisional pole. It's not remarkable, but it's certainly how Verstappen got there:

Verstappen almost lost the RB20 coming out of the final corner, but kept lowering the throttle until he regained control. Not only did he keep his car out of contact with the wall, he also managed to stay within track limits and record the fastest lap of the session to that point.

Although he ultimately lost pole position to Lando Norris and was scheduled to start fifth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was a magical moment for Verstappen. It's the kind of thing you'd see in a video game with the difficulty set to the lowest possible setting, but Verstappen does it in Q3 of a real F1 qualifying session.

Former drivers' champion Nico Rosberg probably said it best on Sky Sports:

“By the way, all the other drivers would have hit the wall there. The car was gone. It took Max's magic to save it.”

Truly max magic.