Lando Norris will start from pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Briton leading team mate Oscar Piastri to secure a McLaren front row lockout on a weekend where the squad are hoping to clinch a long-awaited constructors’ title.
After Max Verstappen initially set a time strong enough for provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, it was Norris who surged ahead during the decisive final laps on an effort of 1m 22.595s, putting him 0.209s clear of Piastri.
Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari, while Nico Hulkenberg grabbed a sensational fourth in his last event for Haas. Verstappen ultimately had to settle for fifth, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in sixth and the Mercedes of George Russell in seventh.
Fernando Alonso took P8 for Aston Martin, just beating Valtteri Bottas whose progression to Q3 earned applause from the Kick Sauber team, while Sergio Perez completed the top 10 in the Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc’s session came to an end in Q2 when his pace-setting final time was deleted for track limits, putting him in P14, which will become a back-of-the-grid start owing to a 10-place grid penalty given on Friday.
Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson failed to progress for RB in 11th and 12th, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also departed Q2 in 13th and Kevin Magnussen was 15th in his last weekend racing for Haas.
The big news from Q1 was that Lewis Hamilton suffered an early exit in his final qualifying session for Mercedes, the seven-time world champion ending the day in P18 after hitting a loose bollard that had been knocked onto the track by Magnussen.
Also eliminated were Alex Albon for Williams in 16th, Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu in 17th, the other Williams of Franco Colapinto in 19th and Alpine’s Jack Doohan ended his first F1 qualifying session in 20th position.
After three practice sessions across Friday and Saturday – all topped by a different driver – attentions turned to qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit in order to decide the grid for the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Stroll was the first to hit the track for a push lap as 18 minutes went on the clock for Q1, the Canadian setting the early benchmark. While Mercedes peeled back into the pits after initial laps on the hard tyre, most of the pack were soon out on the soft compound.
This saw Perez put himself on top – before having his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. By the time the segment had reached its halfway point, Sainz had gone quickest ahead of Verstappen and Magnussen, the latter following up his eye-catching FP3 performance for Haas.
Colapinto, meanwhile, had a bit of a moment in the Williams, the Argentinian amongst the drivers in the drop zone alongside Doohan, Lawson, Albon and Perez, while Gasly and Zhou were on the bubble in 14th and 15th.
A queue formed in the pit lane as the all-important final minutes arrived – and there was also good news for Perez as the Red Bull driver had his previously deleted lap time reinstated, lifting him up to third in the timesheets.
The Kick Sauber of Bottas then hauled himself out of danger by grabbing a stunning P1, toppling Sainz at the head of the board, while the rest of the pack tried to improve on a traffic-filled circuit. Leclerc soon went fastest on a 1m 23.302s, as Gasly also moved up into the top five.
At the other end of the scale, Hamilton could not improve and ended his final qualifying session as a Mercedes driver in P18. “I messed that up big time,” the seven-time world champion reported, with replays showing that he ran over a stray bollard under his car – the obstacle seemingly knocked onto the track by Magnussen.
Also exiting in Q1 were Albon and Zhou in 16th and 17th respectively, Colapinto in 19th and Doohan – competing in his first qualifying – in 20th place.
It was Verstappen who kicked off the action when Q2 began, the Dutchman briefly enjoying the track to himself before a flurry of cars joined the fray. Meanwhile the stewards confirmed that Hulkenberg would be investigated after the session for a pit exit incident.
Verstappen was the first to get a timed lap on the board, with his early effort of 1m 22.998s – set on a fresh set of tyres – keeping him ahead of his rivals. While the McLaren duo trailed the world champion, both had been running used tyres, suggesting that there could be more to come on their second runs with fresh rubber.
With five minutes remaining, Alonso, Stroll, Magnussen, Bottas and Gasly were the names in danger, hence another busy queue in the pit lane as everybody looked to put their final runs in. Verstappen, however, appeared to feel safe, having exited the car and taken off his helmet and balaclava.
Magnussen missed out on reaching Q3, having been unable to improve on P12, while team mate Hulkenberg went up to second. Leclerc, on the other hand, found himself at risk after being pushed down into the elimination zone.
Alonso bettered his effort to go sixth, while Ferrari could breathe a sigh of relief as Leclerc surged up into P1 – only for that lap to be deleted to put him P13, meaning he will start at the back tomorrow owing to that 10-place grid penalty.
Team mate Sainz took top honours in first, and Bottas sparked applause in the Kick Sauber garage by moving up into P9. And with Perez just making it through to Q3, this put Tsunoda, Lawson, Stroll, Leclerc and Magnussen out.
By F1
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