Lando Norris took F1 pole in Abu Dhabi GP as he led a McLaren 1-2 with Oscar Piastri in second from Carlos Sainz.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying at Yas Marina circuit started off with double lap deletions for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Williams’ Franco Colapinto at the same corner. But towards the end of the session, the Mexican’s lap time was re-instated which put him in third.
It got a bit hectic at the end with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m23.302s) ending up on top after his second from Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. The drop zone got a bit tasty due to last minute preparation laps with multiple drivers in the pack.
Mercedes’ George Russell seemingly held up but teammate Lewis Hamilton got a bad luck on his side when he had a bollard stuck under his car which was put on track by a slowing Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. The Dane was trying to avoid cars around him and was forced off track to hit the bollard.
Williams’ Alexander Albon was first to be out in 16th with a 1m23.821 lap, which was only 0.027s behind 15th place. Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu (1m23.880s) was not far off in 17th from Hamilton (1m23.887s), Colapinto (1m23.912s) and Alpine’s Jack Doohan (1m24.105s).
Q2:
The start of second part in F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying was delayed due to the track officials placing the bollard back. Once it got going, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to set early pace. Interestingly, he didn’t venture out for the second time as he felt good enough with his lap.
Everybody else did venture out as Leclerc improved on his time to go on top but his lap was deleted to knock him out in Q2. His teammate Sainz set the pace with a 1m22.985s lap ahead of Verstappen and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, who made it in along with one Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
A late fast lap from Bottas dropped both the Visa Cash App RB cars outside the Top 10 with Yuki Tsunoda (1m23.419s) in 11th from teammate Liam Lawson (1m23.472s). Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m23.784s) was 13th from Leclerc (1m23.980s) and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m23.877s).
Q3:
The final part in F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying saw Verstappen on top with a 1m22.945s despite a wild moment in the final corner where he nearly lost the car but managed to save it and set a time which no one could beat, with McLaren’s Lando Norris coming close in second.
Sainz was third in the order ahead of Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in the Top 5, with the two midfield cars beating several of big runners. There was a lap deletion for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after a slight wide moment at Turn 1 on his first run, to be at the back of the Top 10.
But much like Perez, his lap was re-instated by the officials which put him in third behind Norris, which dropped Sainz to fourth and Hulkenberg in fifth. The second run saw McLaren end up 1-2 after Norris took F1 pole in Abu Dhabi GP with a 1m22.595s lap from Piastri (1m22.804s).
In the fight for constructors’, Sainz (1m22.824s) was third from Hulkenberg (1m22.886s), with Verstappen (1m22.945s) only fifth after a bad final lap. Gasly (1m22.984s) was sixth from Russell (1m23.132s), as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (1m23.196s) did well in eighth.
The Top 10 was rounded out by Bottas (1m23.204s) and Perez (1m23.264s), after the Mexican elected to run early when others were only starting their final lap.
UPDATE: Hulkenberg was handed a grid drop of three places for overtaking two cars in the tunnel of the pitlane, where the driver stated that he had no option but to do that to take the circuit and complete his lap on time.
As a result, he will now start seventh, with Verstappen, Gasly and Russell gaining a place each. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2027%20-%20Alleged%20failure%20to%20follow%20Race%20Director’s%20instructions%20(Pit%20Exit%20Road).pdf
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