It may be the last race of the season, but Red Bull driver Max Verstappen didn’t let up in qualifying.
Verstappen took pole for his historic 12th pole of the season in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, ensuring a front-row start. He was joined by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in second and McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri in third, a varied top three for the session.
The session was also largely affected by track limits. Williams driver Logan Sargeant looked to have gotten to Q2 with two laps in Q1, but both were deleted and he will start from 20th. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was also set to start in fifth after his lap, but that lap was also deleted and he will start in ninth. There was some other minor controversy during the session, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz believed he was blocked by an Alpine car during his hot lap that saw him qualify just 16th but it was determined that he was a full throttle for the incident.
Here is how qualifying shaped out during the last race of the season:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) [1:23.445]
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) [1:23.584]
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) [1:23.784]
- George Russell (Mercedes) [1:23.778]
- Lando Norris (McLaren) [1:23.816]
- Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) [1:23.968]
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) [1:24.084]
- Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) [1:24.108]
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull) [1:24.171]
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) [1:24.548]
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) [1:24.359]
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine) [1:24.391]
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) [1:24.422]
- Alexander Albon (Williams) [1:24.439]
- Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) [1:24.442]
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) [1:24.738]
- Kevin Magnussen (Haas) [1:24.764]
- Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) [1:24.788]
- Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) [1:25.189]
- Logan Sargeant (Williams) [No Time]