Max Verstappen Defies the Odds to Snatch Pole from Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi

Max Verstappen clinched the final pole position of the season at the Abu Dhabi GP, as Lewis Hamilton’s desperate final Q3 lap only handed him P2. Hence, the two title contenders will start the main race from the front row.

Behind the title-contending pair, Lando Norris claimed an astonishing P3 for McLaren ahead of Sergio Perez. What’s painful for Mercedes is the starting position of Valtteri Bottas, who only managed P6.

Q3- Who takes pole at Abu Dhabi GP?

The most crucial pole shootout got underway, as Perez and Verstappen started off the proceedings. The Dutchman produced an insane lap to claim provisional pole. And boy did it pay off well! Hamilton found himself over 0.5s adrift the leading Red Bull driver.

However, the job wasn’t over just yet for Verstappen, as the final Q3 run was still due to come. Hence, despite posting a commendable initial lap, Verstappen had to ace it in his final run.

In the end, even though he couldn’t ace it, neither did Hamilton, as the top 2 remained as it was. However, what’s shocking was Norris’ lap that earned the Briton an incredible P3 on the grid while both the second drivers of Red Bull and Mercedes only managed P4 and P6, respectively.

Q2- Red Bull gamble on soft tires

This time around, it was the Mercedes duo that made it to the track ahead of Red Bull; all four drivers on medium tires.

Hamilton posted the fastest lap with a 1:23:185, as Verstappen ended up 0.004s slower than the leader. However, soon, trouble struck the Dutchman, who ended up flat-spotting his medium tires, the tires he was supposed to start the race on.

Hence, he returned onto the track on a set of soft tires. We wonder how this strategy’s going to play out on Sunday; Verstappen and Perez will start the race on soft tires as opposed to Mercedes duo’s medium tires.

Meanwhile, behind the top 10, Alonso, Gasly, Stroll, Giovinazzi, and Vettel missed out on Q3 after getting caught up in the traffic.

Q1- Raikkonen fails to shine in his final F1 qualifying

The lights went green for the final qualifying session of the season, and it was indeed the Red Bull duo that hit the track first along with Vettel. Verstappen posted the fastest lap with a 1:23:680, but Hamilton beat the Dutchman with a 1:23:266.

Meanwhile, down at the bottom, Aston Martin’s woes continued, as neither of the drivers was able to put up a lap decent enough to break out of the bottom five. However, right at the dying minutes of Q1, Stroll and Vettel managed to claim P13 and P15, respectively.

Behind the duo, Latifi, Russell, Raikkonen, Schumacher, and Mazepin failed to make it into the second part of qualifying.

Watch Story: How Much Does an F1 Car Cost?