F1 Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen takes Abu Dhabi pole
Max Verstappen took pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina, the final round of the 2021 F1 World Championship, ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen will start ahead of Hamilton and McLaren's Lando Norris after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Hamilton
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
1'22.109 | 243.510 | |
| 2 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
1'22.480 | 0.371 | 242.415 |
| 3 | Lando Norris |
 |
1'22.931 | 0.822 | 241.096 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
1'22.947 | 0.838 | 241.050 |
| 5 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
1'22.992 | 0.883 | 240.919 |
| 6 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
1'23.036 | 0.927 | 240.791 |
| 7 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
1'23.122 | 1.013 | 240.542 |
| 8 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
1'23.220 | 1.111 | 240.259 |
| 9 |  Esteban Ocon |
 |
1'23.389 | 1.280 | 239.772 |
| 10 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
1'23.409 | 1.300 | 239.715 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
1'23.460 | 1.351 | 239.568 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
1'24.043 | 1.934 | 237.906 |
| 13 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
1'24.066 | 1.957 | 237.841 |
| 14 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |
 |
1'24.251 | 2.142 | 237.319 |
| 15 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
1'24.305 | 2.196 | 237.167 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
1'24.338 | 2.229 | 237.074 |
| 17 | George Russell |
 |
1'24.423 | 2.314 | 236.835 |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen |
 |
1'24.779 | 2.670 | 235.841 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
1'24.906 | 2.797 | 235.488 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |
 |
1'25.685 | 3.576 | 233.347 |
| View full results | |||||
What happened in Q1?
Verstappen set the early bar in Q1, lapping in 1m23.680s to which Hamilton responded with 1m23.266s, which was four tenths faster. Bottas got between the title rivals in second, just a tenth off his Mercedes teammate.
While the Mercedes duo pitted, Verstappen pushed again on the same set of tyres, going second quickest on 1m23.322s, 0.056s down on Hamilton.
After a brief red flag to retrieve a dislodged bollard, Hamilton ran again at the end of the session, unleashing a 1m22.845s, 0.272s faster than Bottas’s final run, while Verstappen stayed in the garage having the floor of his car checked over and slipped to third again.
Falling at the first hurdle were Nicholas Latifi and George Russell of Williams, Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), and the Haases of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1 results: Hamilton fastest from Bottas
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'22.845 | 241.347 | ||
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'23.117 | 0.272 | 0.272 | 240.557 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 6 | 1'23.322 | 0.477 | 0.205 | 239.965 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 9 | 1'23.350 | 0.505 | 0.028 | 239.884 |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 9 | 1'23.428 | 0.583 | 0.078 | 239.660 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 11 | 1'23.467 | 0.622 | 0.039 | 239.548 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 9 | 1'23.489 | 0.644 | 0.022 | 239.485 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 5 | 1'23.553 | 0.708 | 0.064 | 239.301 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 10 | 1'23.624 | 0.779 | 0.071 | 239.098 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 8 | 1'23.764 | 0.919 | 0.140 | 238.699 |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 7 | 1'23.829 | 0.984 | 0.065 | 238.514 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 6 | 1'23.846 | 1.001 | 0.017 | 238.465 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 10 | 1'24.061 | 1.216 | 0.215 | 237.855 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 9 | 1'24.118 | 1.273 | 0.057 | 237.694 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 10 | 1'24.225 | 1.380 | 0.107 | 237.392 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi |
Williams | 8 | 1'24.338 | 1.493 | 0.113 | 237.074 |
| 17 | George Russell |
Williams | 7 | 1'24.423 | 1.578 | 0.085 | 236.835 |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen |
Alfa Romeo | 8 | 1'24.779 | 1.934 | 0.356 | 235.841 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
Haas | 9 | 1'24.906 | 2.061 | 0.127 | 235.488 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin |
Haas | 9 | 1'25.685 | 2.840 | 0.779 | 233.347 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Q2?
The pole position hunters started this session using the medium tyre, with Hamilton setting the early pace at 1m23.185s ahead of Verstappen’s 1m23.189s, just 0.004s between them. Bottas was third, 0.061s off the pace.
Verstappen pushed again, but flatspotted his left-front tyre – a major error as these were his only fresh mediums that he’d planned to start the race on.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz then went fastest with a lap of 1m23.174s set on soft tyres, 0.011s faster than Hamilton.
On the final runs, Hamilton opted for fresh mediums and Verstappen was forced into running new softs. Hamilton retook P1 with 1m23.145s, before Perez beat him on softs with 1m23.135s.
Verstappen topped that with 1m22.800s to head this session, ahead of Perez and Hamilton, who was 0.345s off his pace but – crucially – will start on the medium tyre, with Verstappen on the soft.
Knocked out at this point were Fernando Alonso (Alpine, who felt his lap was hampered at the end by a McLaren), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and the second Aston of Sebastian Vettel.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 7 | 1'22.800 | 241.478 | ||
| 2 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 8 | 1'23.135 | 0.335 | 0.335 | 240.505 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'23.145 | 0.345 | 0.010 | 240.476 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'23.174 | 0.374 | 0.029 | 240.392 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'23.202 | 0.402 | 0.028 | 240.311 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 8 | 1'23.246 | 0.446 | 0.044 | 240.184 |
| 7 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 8 | 1'23.256 | 0.456 | 0.010 | 240.155 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 7 | 1'23.404 | 0.604 | 0.148 | 239.729 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 6 | 1'23.420 | 0.620 | 0.016 | 239.683 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 6 | 1'23.448 | 0.648 | 0.028 | 239.603 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso |
Alpine | 6 | 1'23.460 | 0.660 | 0.012 | 239.568 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly |
AlphaTauri | 7 | 1'24.043 | 1.243 | 0.583 | 237.906 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin | 7 | 1'24.066 | 1.266 | 0.023 | 237.841 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi |
Alfa Romeo | 8 | 1'24.251 | 1.451 | 0.185 | 237.319 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel |
Aston Martin | 8 | 1'24.305 | 1.505 | 0.054 | 237.167 |
| View full results | |||||||
What happened in Q3?
On the first runs, Verstappen – with the benefit of a tow from Perez – lapped in 1m22.109s compared to Hamilton’s 1m22.660s, which was 0.551s slower after he locked up at the new hairpin.
A lap later, Perez jumped up to third, getting a tow of Verstappen in return, and even though he was 0.8s off the pace, Perez was ahead of Bottas at this point.
On the final runs, Hamilton improved to 1m22.480, but that was still 0.371s off Verstappen. Norris jumped up to third on his last lap, beating Perez, Sainz, Bottas, Chares Leclerc (Ferrari), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren).
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
Red Bull | 7 | 1'22.109 | 243.510 | ||
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes | 7 | 1'22.480 | 0.371 | 0.371 | 242.415 |
| 3 | Lando Norris |
McLaren | 7 | 1'22.931 | 0.822 | 0.451 | 241.096 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez |
Red Bull | 7 | 1'22.947 | 0.838 | 0.016 | 241.050 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'22.992 | 0.883 | 0.045 | 240.919 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas |
Mercedes | 6 | 1'23.036 | 0.927 | 0.044 | 240.791 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 6 | 1'23.122 | 1.013 | 0.086 | 240.542 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda |
AlphaTauri | 6 | 1'23.220 | 1.111 | 0.098 | 240.259 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
Alpine | 6 | 1'23.389 | 1.280 | 0.169 | 239.772 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo |
McLaren | 6 | 1'23.409 | 1.300 | 0.020 | 239.715 |
| View full results | |||||||
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