Verstappen wins last pole position of the year in Abu Dhabi

At the opposite extreme, Charles Leclerc He managed to get ‘oil’ out of his Ferrari After experiencing many performance problems since its first contact with the tarmac of Yas Marina. The Monaco, who completed the season at his best level, will be in second place on the grid. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and George Russell (Mercedes) will form the second row. Lando NorrisCompeting as the main candidate for pole, he lost all his options in the last sector of the circuit and fell to fifth place.

Czech Perez He saw how the stewards canceled his final lap and left the race due to track limits. Fernando Alonso Seventh on the grid with Aston Martin. Worse results were achieved Carlos Sainz, who couldn’t get past the first quarter and fell to 16th place.

Q1: Sainz eliminated at first try

The track temperature, which was lower than expected and significantly affected the performance of the cars, further damaged Ferrari. After Friday’s horrific crash, Carlos Sainz finished last in the final free practice session on Saturday and faced many unknowns in qualifying. Alonso hasn’t looked comfortable so far this weekend either; It was a stark contrast to Russell and his Mercedes, who dominated two of three practice sessions and the McLarens, who were much more competitive here than in Las Vegas a week earlier.

Verstappen (1.24.160) and Norris, two tenths behind, start the first lap of qualifying ahead, with Leclerc third, Sainz more than half a second behind and Alonso a long way off. Almost everyone had to resort to a second set of tires because there were not enough references. The evolution of the track around four tenths allowed for a noticeable improvement in times, although Max’s first attempt was not enough. While the two Red Bulls were leading in this first quarter, Checo was 49 thousandths behind his teammate. While Alonso ranked 13th, Carlos Sainz was eliminated in the first quarter for the first time this season. Sargeant was robbed of his best lap for the fourth time and remained out along with Magnussen, Bottas and Zhou.

Q2: Hamilton, another surprise knockout

Red Bulls started the second quarter with new tyres, compared to their other competitors who took to the track with used tyres. The Dutchman took advantage of setting the first reference (1.23.740), but Norris confirmed the ‘threat’ by taking second place in the used Pirelli, tenth ahead of Checo.

In the second round, Leclerc failed to make any progress against Verstappen and Norris but took third place ahead of Russell. Alonso showed off to secure his place in the final quarter with a sixth-fastest time on his final lap, three tenths behind Verstappen and just 1 second behind Pérez. Hamilton, who was less adaptable than Russell at Yas Marina, failed to improve and became the second famous ‘victim’ of the class. In addition to the Briton, Ocon, Albon, Ricciardo and Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll were also excluded from the squad.

Q3: Pole position for Max

Verstappen had two opportunities to take pole position with the extra set of tyres, but he was already looking to mark the distance on his first attempt. The Dutch pilot achieved provisional pole position (1.23.445). Lando Norris is 4 tenths behind on used tyres, waiting to make a decisive attack on new tyres. Piastri completed McLaren’s challenge, finishing third ahead of Russell and Pérez. Alonso finished eighth on his first lap.

In the final fight, Norris, already on equal terms, made a lap at the limit, but he ran out of wheels in the final sector of Yas Marina and this was not enough to dislodge Verstappen from first place, and even Piastri overtook him. Leclerc finished second, while Verstappen achieved his twelfth pole position in a busy 2023. And Fernando Alonso will start the race this Sunday in seventh place on the grid.