The final weekend of the season is upon us, but the twists and turns do not seem to end. Max Verstappen put in his best qualifying lap of the season to pip Lewis Hamilton and take pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying. Hamilton could not match the time set by Verstappen and finished three-tenths of a second back. In another shock result, Lando Norris bagged P3, ahead of Sergio Perez in P4.
The McLaren driver put in a scintillating lap at the end to out-qualify a Red Bull, a Mercedes, and a Ferrari. He, just like Max, will start the race on the soft compound tires and will have an advantage at the beginning.
Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also believes that Norris could play a role tomorrow at the start. With Lewis starting on medium tires, Marko hopes Lando could get the Mercedes driver at the start.
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“[Lando] is on softs, is a great starter. Maybe he’ll get Hamilton at the start and that would be good for us,” said Marko.
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Lando Norris hopes to avoid the Verstappen and Hamilton at the start
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As reported by The Mirror, the young Brit was ecstatic with his qualifying result. He will start the race in P3 behind Verstappen and Hamilton. But he stated he was nervous as he does not want to get involved with their fight.
” It was a nice lap. Q3 was a bit of a surprise! I’m a bit nervous because I just want to stay where I am and see it unfold. I don’t want to get involved too much and I don’t know whether to go for the move or not, but if I have a chance, I’ll go for it.” said Norris.
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With Lando not willing to get involved, Red Bull would hope that Perez could overtake him and help his teammate ahead. The start of this race could be crucial, as it is very hard to overtake in Abu Dhabi.
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