Max Verstappen will start the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position after securing the top spot in Saturday’s qualifying.
The Red Bull driver put himself into P1 on the timesheets with a lap of 1m 23.445s, beating Charles Leclerc by 0.139s. Oscar Piastri was the leading McLaren in P3, with George Russell close behind in fourth.
READ MORE: Verstappen beats Leclerc to Abu Dhabi GP pole as Hamilton and Sainz endure early exits
Lando Norris experienced a slide on his final flying lap, leaving him in fifth, while Yuki Tsunoda secured an impressive sixth in the AlphaTauri.
Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg sealed P7 and P8 respectively, and Sergio Perez was pushed down to ninth after having his lap time deleted due to exceeding track limits. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-10.
There were some surprises earlier in the session; Lewis Hamilton failed to make it out of Q2, while Carlos Sainz was eliminated in Q1, continuing the Spaniard’s difficult weekend following his crash during FP2 on Friday.
Click on the video above to watch the highlights from qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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