With the season finale one night away, the final qualifying session saw familiar faces lock onto the front row at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday. Both McLaren drivers closed down the front row and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz claimed P3. In a shock though, Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas sits in P4.
Lando Norris lapped the Yas Marina circuit with a time of 1.23.682 to claim his ninth career pole position. His teammate Oscar Piastre followed in second, two tenths of a second behind. This gives McLaren a clear shot at winning the World Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 1998.
Although Carlos Sainz finished P3 in the final race for Ferrari, it was a disastrous Saturday for Ferrari as their chances of winning the constructors’ title were further eroded as Charles Leclerc’s lap time in Q2 was wiped out after exceeding track limits at the turn. 1 which sent him to P14. After the penalty, his final grid position would be P19. Ferrari will be hoping for a miracle if they hope to win the constructors’ title, which they last won in 2008.
Sergio Perez, whose future is still uncertain, finished with a 1.23.559 to put his Red Bull in P10, while his teammate and world champion Max Verstappen raced through the field to start his Sunday from P5. Drivers Yuki Tsunada and Liam Lawson of Red Bull’s sister team Visa Cash App RB will start the race from P11 and P12 respectively.
It was a forgettable qualifying for seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton as a bollard stuck under his car damaged his lap, leaving the Mercedes in P18 with a 1.23.887 in final qualifying for the Silver Arrows. He will have to work hard to make his last run for the team a memorable one. His teammate George Russell managed a lap time of 1.23.678, putting his car in P7.
Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu also ran the final qualifying for their team, Kick Sauber, and Zhou had to drop out after Q1 as his 1.23.880 could only give him P17. Bottas, on the other hand, took his car to Q3, keeping his car in P9.
Both Hash drivers put on a show during the evening in Abu Dhabi, but only Nico Hulkenberg got a better performance from the car. Kevin Magnussen, in his last Formula 1 qualification, could only manage a P15. Nico Hulkenberg, who last sat on pole in 2010, drove through the circuit in a lap time of 1.23.722, putting him in a shocking P4.
For Aston Martin, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso pushed the car into Q1, starting P8, while Lance Stroll missed out on P13.
On his F1 debut for Alpine, Jacques Doohan had a tough start as his 1.24.105 put him in last place, but penalties from Williams and Leclerc meant he would start P16. Pierre Gasly showed his skills again by bringing the car into Q3 and securing P6.
Both Williams drivers Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto were given five-place grid penalties which did not help their disappointing qualifying bout, and Albon would start from the back of the grid after managing P18 and Colapinto P20 (after penalties).