Verstappen takes pole position in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton out in Q2

Max Verstappen sets the pace in qualifying as he takes the final pole position of the 2023 Formula 1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen finds the pace when it matters

After struggling with his RB19 throughout the practice session, he found the extra pace required to take his 12th pole of the season, and Verstappen will look to earn his fourth win in a row around the Yas Marina Circuit.

Behind him will be the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who was just a tenth of a second away from the Dutchman, and Oscar Piastri rounds out the top three. Lewis Hamilton could not make it into Q2, as he was knocked out in Q2 after qualifying 11th fastest.

George Russell missed out on the top three in P4, and a mistake on the last lap from Lando Norris meant he culd only qualify in P5.

A fantastic lap from Yuki Tsunoda put him in P6, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. Sergio Perez could only qualify in P9 after his final lap time was deleted due to track extending, and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.

Result - P1 Verstappen, P2 Leclerc, P3 Piastri, P4 Russell, P5 Norris, P6 Tsunoda, P7 Alonso, P8 Hulkenberg, P9 Perez, P10 Gasly

Q2

The softs were chosen by every driver on the grid once again, as everyone got onto the Yas Marina Circuit much quicker in Q2.

Verstappen was able to set the pace once again, and there was another shock in store. Hamilton, the five-time winner in Abu Dhabi, could only put his Mercedes into P11, meaning he was knocked out and would not compete in Q3.

On the other hand, his teammate Russell made it through with ease. Fantastic laps from Gasly, Alonso, Tsunoda and Hulkenberg also sent them through into the top-ten shootout.

However, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, and Daniel Ricciardo could not emulate their teammate's success, and they joined Hamilton and Albon in the elimination zone.

Out - P11 Hamilton, P12 Ocon, P13 Stroll, P14 Albon, P15 Ricciardo 

Q1

It was a slow start to qualifying, as it was in FP3, with no cars on the Yas Marina Circuit for the first four minutes of Q1.

However, when the cars finally got out on track, all of them had the red-walled soft tyres bolted on, and Verstappen topped the Q1 timing sheet after struggling earlier in FP3, with Perez coming close behind.

At the bottom of the standings, Carlos Sainz could only qualify in P16 as the chequered flag dropped. The Spaniard complained about traffic while he was doing his final lap, and as a result, he could not find the pace needed to make it into Q2. He will start the race from the eighth row of the grid.

Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu qualified behind the Ferrari driver and will start from P17, P18 and P19, respectively.

Logan Sargeant qualified in P20 after he had both of his laps deleted due to exceeding track limits, with both of those laps being good enough to take him into the next session. As a result, he has been out-qualified by his teammate Alex Albon at every race this year.

Out - P16 Sainz, P17 Magnussen, P18 Bottas, P19 Zhou, P20 Sargeant