Hamilton admits Verstappen 'deserves the pole'

Lewis Hamilton was unable to secure pole position ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with his title rival Max Verstappen topping the timesheet. The Mercedes driver, however, will start the race on the favoured medium tyre, while Verstappen will be on the softs having set his quickest time in Q2 on that compound.

Mercedes looked the better of the two cars over the weekend, but couldn't translate that into qualifying. Hamilton will be on the front row, and admits that Verstappen "deserves the pole."

With a two from Sergio Perez, Verstappen set a time head and shoulders clear of Hamilton, who has to make do with a P2 start, and race without the help of teammate Valtteri Bottas, who will start from P6.

Abu Dhabi crowd in favour of Verstappen

The grandstand erupted into noise when Verstappen secured pole position, and even booed Hamilton at the end of qualifying, so it's clear who the home favourite is. Hamilton, however, is unfazed.

"Max did a great lap today so we couldn't compete with that time at the end there. It was looking strong in practice, we have a great crowd here regardless of the boos. We couldn't compete but we're in a great position with our tyres tomorrow so we can have a good race.

"In the first lap I dropped a bit of time, but the last lap was clean, I just couldn't go quicker. I couldn't beat that time today, he deserves the pole. I'm still on the front row, and we have the difference between the tyres. I am grateful I can see where he is and we can navigate from there."