After the last qualifying of the year, Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen was able to look forward to pole position. He shares the front row of the grid in Abu Dhabi with Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton was only third fastest.
The track temperature had dropped to just under 30 degrees Celsius by the start of qualifying when the two Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Pietro Fittipaldi were the first to leave. Shortly afterwards, George Russell also left the pits, and like the two teammates, the Williams returnees had chosen the soft tires for the first exit.
Even before the first lap time was shown on the monitor, other GP stars set out, including Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, took his time, and when the two Mercedes drivers started, the German stayed in the pits a little longer.
Magnussen set the first record with 1: 38.086 min, Fittipaldi was in second position, 87 thousandths behind. The drivers of the US team could not stay ahead for long, because Leclerc increased it with 1: 36.894 min and Verstappen exceeded this performance with 1: 36.807 min. But the Red Bull Racing star was also passed on – first by his team-mate Alex Albon with 1: 36.106 min, then by Valtteri Bottas, who took the top position with 1: 35.699 min.
Sergio Pérez lined up behind, the winner of the latest GP in Sakhir will have to tackle the race from the back of the grid because he exceeded the engine contingent. The same fate overtakes Kevin Magnussen, and Leclerc will also step into the final test of strength with a mortgage because he has been relegated by three starting positions for his Sakhir crash.
After the first Q1 attempt, Bottas topped the timesheets ahead of Pérez, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon and Verstappen. Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Magnussen, Fittipaldi, Russell, Nicholas Latifi and Antonio Giovinazzi followed. The latter had not yet turned a timed lap, Hamilton’s first attempt was canceled because he had left the slope at Turn 20.
Verstappen, who complained at the beginning of qualifying about a Williams who had hit him in the pit lane, moved out again and improved to second place – just under three tenths behind. The race management announced that they would take a closer look at the incident in the pit lane after the final training session.
After the last Q1 attempt, Hamilton secured the top position with 1: 35.528 minutes. Bottas, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Pérez, Albon, Kvyat, Stroll and Sainz followed in the other positions. Gasly, Vettel, Ricciardo, Ocon and Giovinazzi also made it into Q2, while Räikkönen, Magnussen, Russell, Fittipaldi and Latifi had to put up with positions 16 to 20. The latter made a spin on his last attempt in the last corner.
Q2-Aus from Sebastian Vettel
The big question before the second qualifying segment was who would make it into Q3 on medium tires and in addition to the two Mercedes drivers, the Red Bull Racing team-mates, the Ferrari duo, the Renault works drivers and Carlos Sainz also tried their luck first on the yellow marked, medium-hard rubbers.
Albon’s time was canceled, and Verstappen also didn’t get going, after the first attempt he took fifth place behind Hamilton, Bottas, Norris and Sainz. Gasly, Leclerc, Kvyat, Stroll and Vettel completed the top 10 ahead of Ocon, Giovinazzi, Albon, Ricciardo and Pérez, although the last three had not yet completed a timed lap. It wasn’t surprising for the Mexican either, after all, he would have to start from the back row anyway.
After that, the Yas Marina Circuit was quiet for a short time before all the pilots except Pérez moved out again. Verstappen and Leclerc were the only ones who stepped on the medium tires again and Leclerc managed to qualify as sixth fastest for Q3.
Verstappen was also the third fastest behind Hamilton and Bottas, as well as Albon, Norris, Stroll, Sainz, Kvyat and Gasly in the other top 10 positions. For the two Renault drivers Ocon and Ricciardo, however, the final training was over, as was the case for Vettel, Giovinazzi and Pérez.
In Q3 it didn’t take long for the first lap time to light up: Kvyat advanced with 1.36.451 minutes and was passed straight through because the rest of the top ten were also on the way. After the first attempt it was Bottas, he was ahead with 1: 35.415 minutes, Max Verstappen was one tenth missing, who was in second position ahead of Hamilton, who was 0.135 seconds short of his teammate’s time. Albon, Sainz, Borris, Stroll, Leclerc, Kvyat and Gasly followed on the other ranks.
But nothing had been decided yet, the GP stars still had time to try again, and all ten moved out again. Hamilton started with a sector best time and managed to come to the top with 1: 35.332 minutes. The joy did not last long, because first Bottas was faster with 1: 35.271 min and finally Max Verstappen prevailed with 1: 35.246 min.
Qualifying, Abu Dhabi
1. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:35,246 min
2. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes, +0.025 sec
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +0,086
4. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +0.251
5. Alex Albon (T), Red Bull Racing, +0,325
6. Carlos Sainz (E), McLaren, +0.569
7. Daniil Kvyat (RUS), AlphaTauri, +0,717
8. Lance Stroll (CDN), Racing Point, +0,800
9. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +0.819
10. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri, +0,996
11. Esteban Ocon (F), Renault, +1,113
12. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Renault, +1.160
13. Sebastian Vettel (D), Ferrari, + 1,385
14. Antonio Giovinazzi (I), Alfa Romeo, +3.002
15. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Racing Point, no time
16. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN), Alfa Romeo, +2.309
17. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +2,617
18. George Russell (GB), Williams, + 2,799
19. Pietro Fittipaldi (BR), Haas, +2,927
20. Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams, +3,197
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