By Alan Baldwin
ABU DHABI, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Formula One’s title contenders seized the top three grid slots on Saturday to set up a tense season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with a jubilant Max Verstappen on pole ahead of McLaren’s championship leader Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
In a tactical move by Red Bull, four-times world champion Verstappen was given an aerodynamic tow by teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who will start 10th, to go top on his first flying lap.
He then went 0.088 faster with his second unassisted effort to clock a time of one minute 22.207 seconds, 0.201 faster than Norris.
Norris moved up from third to second with his second effort after teammate Piastri had looked like qualifying ahead.
NORRIS WILL TAKE TITLE IF ON THE PODIUM
The Briton is 12 points clear of Verstappen, and a further four ahead of Piastri, and will be champion if he finishes on the podium in Sunday night’s floodlit race at the Yas Marina circuit.
That may not be so straightforward, with Mercedes’s George Russell — fastest in the second phase and in final practice — lurking in fourth place on the grid and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fifth.
“I am incredibly happy to be in first. That’s the only thing we can do, we can control, to maximise what we have and what we can do with the car and we definitely did that in qualifying,” said Verstappen.
“Of course I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to try to win that race,” added the Dutchman, who will need other drivers’ results to go his way.
Norris said he was disappointed not to end the season with a pole but his effort was the best he could do and he would take the fight to Verstappen on Sunday.
“Today when you look at it we weren’t quite quick enough,” he said. “I still want to win tomorrow and that’s going to be the goal.”
Piastri, who led for much of the season before suffering a devastating drop off, agreed he too had not left a lot on the table and was not writing off his chances either.
“It sets up a pretty exciting day tomorrow,” said the Australian, who could face team orders to sacrifice a podium if Norris is fourth heading for the finish with Verstappen about to win.
The possibility of Verstappen going slower than he might otherwise to back up the field behind him — as Lewis Hamilton tried to do to Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg in 2016 — and make the McLarens drop into Russell’s clutches was also discussed.
Russell, twice a winner already this year, said he would be treating it like a normal race regardless of the title battle and possible consequences.
“If lap one finishes in the same order we start in, I can’t imagine Max will drive off into the sunset,” said the Briton. “There could be opportunity.
“I want to finish on the podium, finish the season on a high and I won’t sleep better or worse no matter who wins the championship tomorrow.”
HADJAR AHEAD OF TSUNODA
Fernando Alonso qualified sixth for Aston Martin with Gabriel Bortoleto seventh for Sauber and Esteban Ocon eighth for Haas.
Verstappen’s future Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar will line up ninth for Racing Bulls with Tsunoda, the man he will replace next year, alongside.
Russell’s teenage teammate Kimi Antonelli is likely to be less of a factor in Sunday’s podium battle after qualifying 14th.
Ferrari’s Hamilton completed a miserable hat-trick by failing to get through the first qualifying phase for the third race in a row.
The seven-times world champion, who joined Ferrari from Mercedes in January amid a wave of optimism, will start 16th in his last chance to avoid a season without a podium finish for the first time.
Hamilton qualified 18th in Qatar a week ago and last in Las Vegas.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto qualified last for the team’s final race with Renault power before switching to Mercedes next year.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
Comments