Jack Doohan says Max Verstappen did something in Saudi Arabia that left him ‘surprised’

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Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan has admitted race winner Max Verstappen did something quite surprising during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix weekend.

The 26-year-old Dutchman recorded his ninth victory on the bounce for Red Bull, carrying on where he left off last season.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Jack Doohan was left very impressed by the three-time world champion.

Doohan found one aspect of Verstappen’s Saudi Arabia weekend surprising

Max Verstappen is setting a new bar each weekend for what domination looks like in Formula 1.

In recent times, we’ve lived through eras of supremacy from Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

These are four of the greatest drivers to ever race in Formula 1, and yet at 26 years old, Verstappen is breaking their records.

He’s in a car that can’t be touched by the other teams, but even teammate Sergio Perez is well off his pace.

Verstappen starred in Saudi Arabia again and Jack Doohan has shared which aspect of his performance was most surprising.

He’ll be keen to continue his streak of pole positions and victories but might be slightly upset that Charles Leclerc stole his fastest lap.

However, it’s hard to see a scenario where that point will make much of a difference at the end of the season.

Verstappen continuing to amaze after 56 F1 victories

Speaking about Verstappen’s display in Jeddah, Doohan said: “I was quite surprised to find in qualifying how substantial that gap really was that they had over the rest of the field.

“Particularly Max, we saw him three-and-a-half tenths clear over Checo and I feel like Bahrain, quite low speed, not really taking advantage of how strong that Red Bull car is in a high speed.

“But, a driver’s circuit as we come here to Jeddah, also a lot of confidence is required and that’s just an area that Max is excelling.

“Being in a car that he’s so comfortable with for so many years now, a circuit that he probably thoroughly enjoys because I know I do in the fastest car on the grid, it’s going to excel and by a margin.”

While Doohan found the gap Verstappen had over Perez during qualifying in Saudi Arabia surprising, he shouldn’t have done so.

The Mexican only out-qualified his younger teammate twice last season and missed out on Q3 more times than he should have in the fastest car on the grid.

During their history as teammates, Verstappen has a 58-10 record over Perez which is extraordinary.

It’s an aspect of his racing that Christian Horner has told Perez to improve but catching up to Verstappen may prove impossible at this stage of his career.