Verstappen takes searing pole as McLaren chance slips away
Verstappen takes searing pole as McLaren chance slips away
Max Verstappen secured an emphatic pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Charles Leclerc in second and Oscar Piastri in third.
George Russell will line-up in fourth after a last gasp effort, with Lando Norris fifth after a mistake and Yuki Tsunoda a shock sixth.
Sergio Perez will start ninth after having his lap disappointingly deleted at the end of Q3, with Pierre Gasly tenth.
READ MORE: F1 Driver Salaries: How much do Hamilton, Verstappen and co earn?
Ferrari caught out in Q1
Teams were hesitant to send their drivers out early on in Q1 as a cooling track was guaranteed to offer more improvement later on in the session.
Logan Sargeant, gunning to not allow his team-mate Alex Albon to outqualify him in every session this year, was the first to set a time before it was deleted.
Max Verstappen seized the initiative to go top of all the runners early on, with multiple teams in pursuit of the Dutchman.
The first runs of Q1 proved that Mercedes could be in trouble, with Lewis Hamilton in 13th ahead of a handful of drivers that were yet to set a time due to deletions.
Sargeant found himself fourth after another lap – but had a second consecutive time deleted, knocking him out of qualifying.
Yuki Tsunoda set an impressive time to go second before Carlos Sainz went only 15th with seconds to go.
Behind him on the timesheet and track was Sergio Perez to eliminate the Spaniard in 16th, followed by Kevin Magnussen, Valterri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Albon EXCITED by new Williams F1 project as star driver enjoys extra responsibility
Hamilton left stunned again
Putting his fresh tyres to good use, Max Verstappen stormed to the top of the times early on with Lando Norris two tenths behind after finishing a stunning lap on used tyres.
Both Aston Martins snuck inside the top ten with eighth and ninth after appearing to struggle throughout most of the weekend, having also utilised used tyres on their first runs.
After a poor first lap, Alex Albon bolted on some fresh tyres to put his Williams fifth with three minutes to go, albeit a tenth slower than his Q1 time.
As the track ramped up, drivers continued to improve, with Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda setting excellent times to send themselves through to Q3.
It wouldn’t be long before another shock would occur, with Lewis Hamilton relegated to 11th at the end of the session by team-mate George Russell – seeing him eliminated for the second race in a row.
Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo joined the Brit in bowing out early from the final qualifying session of the year.
READ MORE: RANKED: Best F1 TV commentators and presenters – power rankings
McLaren come up short
Yet again Max Verstappen set the time to beat five minutes in, with the McLaren drivers behind on used tyres by just four tenths.
George Russell sat fourth and seven tenths behind Verstappen, with the bottom end of the top ten incredibly close headed into the final flying laps of the season.
It looked as if Lando Norris may have been able to challenge for pole position until he made a mistake in the final sector of his lap, dropping to fifth.
Sergio Perez had his time deleted late on to drop him to ninth for Sunday's race, while sister team driver Yuki Tsunoda surprised with sixth.
But no one was able to beat Verstappen's time, with the Dutchman just over a tenth ahead of Charles Leclerc at the conclusion of the session.
F1 Qualifying Results: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023
The three Qualifying sessions are in the books and here are the results:1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull):1:23.445
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.139
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +0.337
4. George Russell (Mercedes): +0.343
5. Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.371
6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri): +0.523
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +0.639
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas): +0.663
9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): +0.726
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): +1.103
Eliminated from Q2 11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
14. Alex Albon (Williams)
15. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
Eliminated from Q1 16. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
18. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
19. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)
READ MORE: Unstoppable Verstappen is a MAJOR PROBLEM for F1
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 team OFFICIALLY confirms signing of new lead driver
- 33 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton hints Newey Ferrari move as Verstappen takes swipe at F1 rival
- 2 hours ago
Newey Red Bull EXIT date revealed as F1 star confirmed at new team - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
- Yesterday 22:57
Marko defends Ricciardo in 'unbelievable' idiot claim
- Yesterday 21:57
Hamilton hints at sensational Newey arrival at Ferrari
- Yesterday 20:57
Related news
F1 track to test stunning new driver format
Verstappen caught red-handed in failed Red Bull sabotage
Verstappen's F1 break includes one major omission
Marko mourns death of key Red Bull figure after championship win
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860