Seidl happy to see drivers "pull it off when it counted" in Abu Dhabi qualifying

After another qualifying session in which they led the midfield charge, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl was left very pleased as he hailed both of his drivers' ability to perform "when it counted" in Q3 at the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

McLaren were the only team where the qualifying duel of 2019 hadn't yet been settled heading into the weekend, with both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris beating each other 10 times in 20 weekends.

At the end of Q3, it was the rookie Norris who pipped his Spanish teammate, with the 20-year-old setting the seventh-best time while Sainz was ninth. Both drivers will move up one place due to Valtteri Bottas' grid penalty.

"The team executed well again today in quali, both drivers pulled it off when it counted and it’s great for us to finish the last quali of the season with both cars in the top 10," Seidl reflected on his side's Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

“Starting tomorrow in P6 and P8 gives us a good chance to climb further up the standings in the Drivers’ Championship which will be our focus. We’re looking forward to an exciting last race of the season and sending the MCL34 into retirement in race mode with a good result.”

Although Norris has won the qualifying duel, it has been Sainz who has delivered during races in 2019, scoring 95 of the team's 140 points in the opening 20 rounds of the season. The Spaniard is level on points with Pierre Gasly in sixth place, and Alex Albon is 11 points behind in eighth.