24/24. We’ve reached the final qualifying session of the season and this might just be the most important qualifying for the McLaren duo. The last 10 races at Abu Dhabi have seen the pole sitter win the race. Max Verstappen is hunting for his 5th, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for their first. This qualifying had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Q1 – Track Limits proving tricky
The Alpines were the first to hit the circuit. Seven drivers wasted no time getting out on track to set some early times. Lewis Hamilton headed initially on medium tyres to get a shake-down of his car, following his crash in FP3. His mechanics did a good job to clear up the car so he could participate in qualifying.
Those running the medium tyres found themselves considerably off the pace, with the target times being within the 1:23 margin. Max Verstappen was quick to set a flying lap, shooting to the top of the time table momentarily. Ollie Bearman looked superb as he knocked max Verstappen off that top spot in what was a great lap from the HAAS driver.
Many drivers were testing the boundary with track limits. Franco Colapinto suffered the most, continuously losing his lap time due to limits. Turn 1 seemed to be a kicker. Piastri set a statement lap in the final moments of Q1, 3 tenths quicker than Verstappen in P2 and Antonelli in P3.
Eliminated in Q1
- 16th – Lewis Hamilton
- 17th – Alex Albon
- 18th – Nico Hulkenberg
- 19th – Pierre Gasly
- 20th – Franco Colapinto
Q2 – Russell leads the group
Max Verstappen hit the circuit first for Q2. On the used tyres, he set his fastest lap of the session thus far. Carlos Sainz in the Williams also looks stolid during Q2, his early lap set him second fastest ahead of both HAAS cars, who had made it out of Q1. Lando Norris was not hasty to exit the garage but when he did, seemed comfortable in the car.
George Russell had a great FP3 performance and was putting that show in qualifying, shooting to the top, the provisional time to beat. In the final runs, Charles Leclerc was the first to shoot off. His lap was met with traction issues and so his first sector was less than ideal. A 1:22.9 was his quickest. The Sauber of Gabriele Bortoletto went faster than Leclerc.
Nobody was able to beat Russell’s time, including his teammate Kimi Antonelli who was knocked out. A P14 start for him in tomorrow’s race. Ollie Bearman was also knocked out by his teammate Esteban Ocon, leaving Yuki Tsunoda as the final driver to make it through to Q3.
Eliminated in Q2:
- 11th – Ollie Bearman
- 12th – Carlos Sainz
- 13th – Liam Lawson
- 14th – Kimi Antonelli
- 15th – Lance Stroll
Q3 – All or Nothing for Pole
Tensions were high during Q3. Norris, Oscar and Verstappen were all looking for an optimal lap to secure a spot on the front row, ideally pole. In the initial runs, Verstappen was rapid, with purples across the board. Piastri’s initial run only put him as close as 0.327 seconds behind. Yuki Tsunoda was given instructions by his pit wall to assist Verstappen in the form of a tow during his run.
The final runs were anything but calm. All eyes were on our championship contenders. Piastri was the first to go, but his times weren’t matching Verstappen in provisional pole. Norris behind him was ever so slightly quicker. Verstappen came quicker still, improving upon his own pole lap.
Chequered flag out and Norris joins Max Verstappen on the front row. Oscar Piastri will start behind him in P3, with George Russell starting 4th after a wobble on his final lap. Charles Leclerc managed a great lap for P5. Clearly there is a lot of pace in the Red Bull, which will be a key factor for tomorrow’s championship deciding race.
Tomorrow we are in for one hell of a race. This will be one of the most nerve-wracking, exciting races in a while, as we race to the end to decide the title.