Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Aletihad)
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his 32nd pole of his career, and 12th of the season, to come through the pack at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix even as Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari the edge over Mercedes in the only contest that matters come race time on Sunday.
With the drivers’ title sealed and pack, Verstappen’s pole ensured that the focus became all the more stronger on the constructors’ standings where Mercedes and Ferrari are racing into a neck to neck finish with just four points separating them. And Leclerc put himself on the front row of the grid to ensure that he and Carlos Sainz (starting in 16th) and collectively cross the chequered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of the Mercedes GP pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
It is a mixed bag for both teams, considering Sainz is the farthest of the lot with Russell – in fourth place behind Oscar Piastri of McLaren – finding more pace than Hamilton (11th).
“It does not matter where I and Carlos finish as long as Ferrari comes ahead of Mercedes,” said Leclerc, “that is all that matters. Considering the weekend we had, I did not think it would come through. Being on the front row is a big surprise.
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 25, 2023
Max Verstappen takes his 12th pole of the season #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/3SK7Il4pCM
“We are fighting for the Constructors [second rank], so hopefully Carlos also comes through,” the Ferrari driver said.
The qualifying results in the UAE capital may look straightforward but all top three drivers were quoted sighing words of relief to come through after experiences struggles with their respective cars and challenges on the banks around the track’s corners.
Verstappen represented all three drivers when he said “the elevation on the bank corners was great while qualifying, but in race conditions when everyone is overtaking, they become disadvantageous to those in the chase.”
“The last corner is also tricky but that is for everyone,” LeClerc added. The Frenchman went from almost one second over the average lap time to 0.9 seconds under in a magic lap of qualifying. “We were on scrub tyres, when we changed to new ones, it [the car went like crazy].”
According to Verstappen, the up and down tarmac and the tight run-off on the corner makes for challenging race, but tricky on the tyres.
"The whole weekend so far has been a bit of a struggle so we definitely improved the car for qualifying," said Verstappen, who can end the year with a record-extending 19th win in 22 races. "From Lap 1, it all seemed a bit more together and we could definitely push more."
Red Bull have won 20 of the 21 races so far, another F1 record, and Verstappen has won in Abu Dhabi for the past three years. Both titles have already been clinched.
The 26-year-old Dutch driver, whose team mate Sergio Perez qualified in ninth place, had complained in practice about his car jumping around "like a kangaroo".
The Australian rookie Piastri was due to face a stewards hearing for allegedly impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly, at the time of writing this. “I am not happy, but good that all came together even though I was making one or two mistakes in every practice. I wasn’t expecting, so third is a good result,” he said in the moments after the qualifying.
McLaren's Lando Norris dropped from a provisional second after the first flying laps to an eventual fifth when he clipped a kerb on his final effort.
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