The build-up was over, and the final qualifying session of the season was under way at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, as Williams’ Nicholas Latifi led a sizable train of cars out on track immediately.
We had eight cars complete flying laps in the first few minutes and the best of the bunch came from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda: his 1:26.135 put him more than a tenth clear of Mick Schumacher in second. Both Ferrari 1-75 cars then began their first flying laps, while the remainder of the field were making their way out on track. In was therefore time to see what the leading cars had in store for us in these cooler floodlit conditions at Yas Marina as all Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari drivers hit the track: Sergio Perez went four tenths quicker than Charles Leclerc, who was still struggling. Lando Norris was just behind the Ferrari, while Sergio Perez was beaten by Max Verstappen by 0.066s. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only managed fourth and sixth, a long way off the Red Bulls.
Ferrari were quicker than Mercedes to start this qualifying session: Carlos Sainz was just two tenths down on the Red Bull in third, with Charles Leclerc a little further back in fourth. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, 0.8s off Verstappen, were pushed back to fifth and seventh. While Mercedes appeared to be failing to maintain the high level of performance we’ve seen in recent weeks, Alfa Romeo appeared to be suffering similarly. Valtteri Bottas, who had been a regular in the top half of the timesheet over the last couple of race weekends, was currently at risk of a Q1 exit down in 18th, as the cars were on the way out now for their final flying laps.
Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Alex Albon (Williams) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams) were out in Q2, as Fernando Alonso narrowly escaped a surprise exit in P15, while Sebastian Vettel cruised through in the end in sixth.
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The 15-minute second part of Qualifying is now under way. The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were first out on track, on used soft tyres, as Sergio Perez looked in really good form today: the Mexican went more than four tenths quicker than his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen on their first Q2 run. Lando Norris, who also appeared to have the bit between his teeth, split the Ferrari cars in fourth. Lewis Hamilton was only down in ninth after those first runs, and surely needed another go on a fresh set of soft tyres.
He left it late in Q1… and Sebastian Vettel once again went up to fifth with his last lap of Q2! Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Mick Schumacher (Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) were eliminated in Q2. Having both momentarily appeared at risk of a shock Q2 exit, Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz kept their cool to improve to second and third, respectively, in the closing moments. Sergio Perez appeared to be in a league of his own at that stage and was the clear favourite for pole.
We were therefore ready for the final 12 minutes of qualifying this season! The Mercedes cars were first out on track once again. Max Verstappen put it all together at the key moment and went almost 0.3s clear at the top of the timesheet. Carlos Sainz was second for Ferrari, with Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez third after getting out of shape into the final corner. Charles Leclerc was fourth, ahead of the Mercedes cars in fifth and sixth, who appeared to be out of the fight for pole today.
Max Verstappen found his best when it mattered, and led a Red Bull front-row lockout from team-mate Sergio Perez! Crucially, he provided a slipstream for team-mate Perez through the middle sector, which helped the Mexican edge Charles Leclerc for second place. The Monegasque was followed by his Maranello team-mate Carlos Sainz in fourth, with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes team-mate George Russell fifth and sixth, respectively.
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