An astonishing lap from Max Verstappen saw the Red Bull driver take pole position for the final race of the Formula 1 season with title rival Lewis Hamilton second for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen benefitted from the tow on his first flying lap in Q3 as Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull helped his teammate. Hamilton didn’t have that advantage as his Mercedes teammate could only manage sixth position.
In Q2 Verstappen flat spotted his medium tyres while doing a second flying run, which forced Red Bull’s hand and they put the softs on as the second part of qualifying ended, which means he will start the race on that compound. Hamilton though, will be on the mediums for the Abu Dhabi GP.
Hamilton and Verstappen go into Sunday’s race level on points, though the Dutchman has a slight advantage given he has one more win over the course of the 2021 F1 season so far.
2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:22.109 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.371 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.822 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.838 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.883 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.927 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.013 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.111 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.280 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +1.300 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | Eliminated in Q2 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | Eliminated in Q1 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | Eliminated in Q1 |
