Abu Dhabi GP qualifying as it happened

By: Megan White, James Newbold, Tom Howard

Summary

Summary
- Verstappen claims pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the 2022 F1 season
- Perez takes second, securing a 25th F1 front row lockout for Red Bull
- Ferrari and Mercedes complete the second and third rows
- Vettel secures ninth for Aston Martin in the final qualifying session of his F1 career
- Out in Q2: Alonso (Alpine), Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Schumacher (Haas), Stroll (Aston Martin) and Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
- Out in Q1: Magnussen (Haas), Gasly, (AlphaTauri), Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Albon (Williams) and Latifi (Williams)

Leaderboard

1. Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Perez, Red Bull
3. Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Sainz, Ferrari
5. Hamilton, Mercedes
6. Russell, Mercedes
7. Norris, McLaren
8. Ocon, Alpine
9. Vettel, Aston Martin
10. Ricciardo, McLaren

Status: Stopped

18:21 Well, the race for second in the world championship is finely poised as Perez and Leclerc start line astern in second and third, while Vettel is well up the grid in ninth for a strong sign off to his F1 career. Thank you for joining us on Autosport Live today, we'll be back tomorrow to bring you all the updates from the finale as they unfold. Until then, goodbye!

18:20 In case you missed any of the action from Abu Dhabi F1 qualifying, here's the final report of the year from Matt Kew: https://autosport.com/all/news/f1-abu-dhabi-gp-verstappen-trumps-perez-for-pole-leclerc-third/10402354/

18:17

18:15 Verstappen ends the year on seven pole positions, while Red Bull has eight for the year with Perez's Jeddah contribution. Ferrari on the other hand took away 12, thanks to nine from Leclerc and a further three for Sainz. Add Magnussen's pole in Brazil and that's 13/22 for Ferrari power units.

18:11 As my colleague Pablo Elizalde points out, that brings down the curtain on Hamilton's first F1 season without a pole position. Nobody could have predicted that come the end of the season.

18:08 If that is to be Ricciardo's final qualifying session as an F1 racer, a Q3 appearance is by no means a bad way to go out. Of course, he won't want it to end this way and is committed to trying to get back onto the grid for 2024.

18:06

18:04 Norris took the best-of-the-rest slot in seventh ahead of Ocon, while Vettel and Ricciardo complete the top 10.

18:04 It's Noah's Ark behind, with the two Ferraris and two Mercedes line astern completing the top six. A repeat of Brazil would appear unlikely for Mercedes as they line up fifth and sixth.

18:03 The final pole margin then for Verstappen was 0.228s. For all Perez's promising form this weekend, when it really counted it was Verstappen who had the edge, as is so often the case.

18:02 Replays show Hamilton had a big snap of oversteer at Turn 24 as he was coming up to the line. A pity for the seven-time world champion who set a purple first sector.

18:01 The checkered flag is out, and that's the final qualifying session of 2022 complete. Just the small matter of a grand prix distance tomorrow.

18:01 Hamilton and Russell improve too, but not enough to challenge the Red Bulls. So it's Verstappen then who ends the year on top with pole position, ahead of Perez, Leclerc and Sainz.

18:00 Verstappen lowers his benchmark time to a 1m23.824s, as Perez nabs second back from Leclerc.

17:59 Leclerc improves - but only to second.

17:58 The leading runners have re-emerged for their final runs. Can anybody wrest the top spot away from Verstappen?

17:57 Ricciardo is just under a tenth down on Vettel, but slots ahead of Ocon too into eighth.

17:56 It's a 1m24.961s for Vettel, which slots him ahead of Norris into seventh.

17:54 Here comes Vettel then, the track to himself. What can he do on his qualifying swansong?

17:54 So it's Verstappen-Sainz-Perez-Leclerc-Hamilton-Russell of the big three to run so far, with Ocon in seventh the only other driver to set a time.

Follow minute-by-minute updates on Saturday practice and qualifying at Formula 1's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Summary