For everyone at Mercedes, the news of Verstappen's retirement was a morale booster.
Though the starting position at the Jeddah Circuit isn't as crucial as in Monaco or Hengelo.
The qualifying position will most likely determine your finishing position in tomorrow's race.
But starting fifteenth, coupled with Qin Miao and Hamilton's strong performances this season, Verstappen likely lost all chances of competing for the race win against Qin Miao and Hamilton in today's race.
Even if Verstappen catches up in the latter stages of the race, under Hamilton and Qin Miao's defense, it's highly unlikely that Verstappen can surpass the two Mercedes drivers.
For the rest of the race, Qin Miao and Hamilton only need to focus on Perez and each other.
As for Ferrari?
Best of luck to them.
Speaking of Ferrari, in today's race, Ferrari once again engaged in some inexplicable maneuvers.
Leclerc replaced a set of electronic controls as a precaution during the first practice session.
