F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying – Start time, how to watch, channel
The UAE plays host to the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 season, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go head-to-head for the title. Here's how you can watch the all-important Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday.
Hamilton topped the times for Mercedes on Friday, setting a best lap of 1m23.691s ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon and teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Verstappen ended up sixth tenths off the pace after failing to improve on his final soft tyre run, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez completing the top five.
What time does qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix start?
Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will begin at 17:00 local time (+4 GMT) at the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday. The three-part session will last approximately one hour.
- Date: Saturday, December 11, 2021
- Start time: 17:00 local time / 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET / 15:00 SAT / 16:00 EAT / 08:00 ET / 05:00 PT / 00:00 AEDT (Sunday) / 22:00 JST / 18:30 IST
Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.
2021 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix session timings in different timezones
| Session | GMT | CET | ET | PT | AEDT | JST | IST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP1 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 04:30 | 01:30 | 20:30 | 18:30 | 15:00 |
| FP2 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 00:00¹ | 22:00 | 18:30 |
| FP3 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 05:00 | 02:00 | 21:00 | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| Qualifying | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 00:00¹ | 22:00 | 18:30 |
| Race | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 00:00¹ | 22:00 | 18:30 |
How can I watch qualifying?
Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world.
Europe:
- Austria - Servus TV / ORF
- Belgium - RTBF
- Denmark - TV3 / TV3 Sport / Viasat
- Finland - MTV
- France - Canal+
- Germany - Sky
- Hungary - M4
- Italy - Sky
- Netherlands - Ziggo
- Poland - Eleven Sports
- Portugal - Eleven Sports
- Spain - Movistar / DAZN
- Sweden - Viasat
- Switzerland - SRF / RSI / RTS
- UK - Sky Sports F1
Americas:
- USA - ESPN2
- Canada - RDS / TSN / Discovery Velocity
- Latin America - Fox Sports / ESPN
Asia:
- China - CCTV / Tencent / Guangdong TV
- India - Star Sports
- Japan - Fuji Television
- Russia - Match TV
- Turkey - S Sport
- Rest of Asia - Fox Sports
Oceania:
- Australia - Fox Sports / Network 10
- New Zealand - Spark Sports
Africa:
- Africa - SuperSport
Can I stream qualifying?
Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. Some local broadcasters such as Sky TV (UK), Movistar (Spain), Disney+ Hotstar (India) also offer their own on-demand service.
Live commentary
Motorsport.com will bring the latest updates from Abu Dhabi throughout the weekend, including live commentary during qualifying on Saturday.
FP1 results:
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 1'25.009 | |
| 2 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 1'25.205 | 0.196 |
| 3 |  Lewis Hamilton | | Mercedes | 1'25.355 | 0.346 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |  | Red Bull | 1'25.363 | 0.354 |
| 5 |  Yuki Tsunoda |  | AlphaTauri | 1'25.378 | 0.369 |
| 6 |  Fernando Alonso |  | Alpine | 1'25.625 | 0.616 |
| 7 |  Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | 1'25.822 | 0.813 |
| 8 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 1'25.846 | 0.837 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | Ferrari | 1'25.886 | 0.877 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Aston Martin | 1'26.007 | 0.998 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon |  | Alpine | 1'26.025 | 1.016 |
| 12 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 1'26.123 | 1.114 |
| 13 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'26.189 | 1.180 |
| 14 |  Antonio Giovinazzi | | Alfa Romeo | 1'26.409 | 1.400 |
| 15 |  Lance Stroll |  | Aston Martin | 1'26.608 | 1.599 |
| 16 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | McLaren | 1'26.676 | 1.667 |
| 17 | Jack Aitken |  | Williams | 1'27.481 | 2.472 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 1'27.487 | 2.478 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |  | Haas | 1'27.698 | 2.689 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |  | Haas | 1'28.305 | 3.296 |
| View full results | |||||
FP2 results:
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton |  | 1'23.691 | |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | | 1'24.034 | 0.343 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas |  | 1'24.083 | 0.392 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | | 1'24.332 | 0.641 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | | 1'24.400 | 0.709 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |  | 1'24.495 | 0.804 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda |  | 1'24.532 | 0.841 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc |  | 1'24.557 | 0.866 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | | 1'24.844 | 1.153 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly |  | 1'24.940 | 1.249 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | | 1'24.959 | 1.268 |
| 12 | Antonio Giovinazzi |  | 1'25.108 | 1.417 |
| 13 | Lando Norris | | 1'25.153 | 1.462 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel |  | 1'25.195 | 1.504 |
| 15 | Lance Stroll |  | 1'25.385 | 1.694 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | 1'25.440 | 1.749 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | 1'25.549 | 1.858 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi |  | 1'25.687 | 1.996 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |  | 1'25.784 | 2.093 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | | 1'26.336 | 2.645 |
| View full results | ||||
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