Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastre after the hour-long qualifying session, which is split into three sections, with five cars each in Q1 and Q2 being knocked out before the top 10 shootout in Q3.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stage: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc
What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1?
Verstappen set the fastest time of 1m24.160s, 0.049s ahead of teammate Perez.
Those who fell at the first barrier were Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), the Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Cho Guanyu, and Logan Sargent (Williams, who lost two of his flying laptimes for breaching track limits).
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez
| Claw | No | driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | lap |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’24.160 | 6 | |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’24.209 | 0.049 | 6 |
| 3 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’24.286 | 0.126 | 6 |
| 4 | 23 | Alexander Alban | Williams/Mercedes | 1’24.298 | 0.138 | 6 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’24.337 | 0.177 | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’24.368 | 0.208 | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance walks | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’24.405 | 0.245 | 6 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1’24.425 | 0.265 | 6 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’24.437 | 0.277 | 6 |
| 10 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’24.459 | 0.299 | 6 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’24.461 | 0.301 | 6 |
| 12 | 81 | Oscar Piastre | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’24.487 | 0.327 | 6 |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’24.501 | 0.341 | 6 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1’24.565 | 0.405 | 6 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Casely | Alpine/Renault | 1’24.600 | 0.440 | 6 |
| 16 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 1’24.738 | 0.578 | 6 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1’24.764 | 0.604 | 6 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’24.788 | 0.628 | 6 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1’25.159 | 0.999 | 6 |
| – | 2 | Logan Sgt | Williams/Mercedes | – | – | 6 |
What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2?
Verstappen set the pace here as well, clocking 1m 23.740s on his opening run, 0.18s faster than McLaren’s Lando Norris.
At this point Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Alban (Williams) and Daniel Ricciardo (Alfatori) all dropped out.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen faster than Norris
| Claw | No | driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | lap |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’23.740 | 3 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’23.920 | 0.180 | 5 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’23.969 | 0.229 | 6 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’24.013 | 0.273 | 6 |
| 5 | 10 | Pierre Casely | Alpine/Renault | 1’24.078 | 0.338 | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’24.116 | 0.376 | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’24.131 | 0.391 | 6 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’24.207 | 0.467 | 6 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1’24.213 | 0.473 | 6 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastre | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’24.278 | 0.538 | 5 |
| 11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’24.359 | 0.619 | 6 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1’24.391 | 0.651 | 6 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance walks | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’24.422 | 0.682 | 6 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Alban | Williams/Mercedes | 1’24.439 | 0.699 | 6 |
| 15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’24.442 | 0.702 | 6 |
What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3?
In the first runs, Verstappen set the bar at 1m23.445s, 0.371s faster than Norris.
In the final runs, Verstappen did not make progress, but Leclerc was more than 0.139s clear of pole.
Piastre took third from Norris, who made a big mistake on his final lap, and George Russell (Mercedes) was fourth.
Behind Norris, Yuki Tsunoda (Alfatori) will start sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Perez (whose best time was removed) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole
| Claw | No | driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | lap |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’23.445 | 6 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’23.584 | 0.139 | 6 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastre | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’23.782 | 0.337 | 6 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’23.788 | 0.343 | 6 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1’23.816 | 0.371 | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1’23.968 | 0.523 | 6 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1’24.084 | 0.639 | 6 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1’24.108 | 0.663 | 6 |
| 9 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1’24.171 | 0.726 | 6 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Casely | Alpine/Renault | 1’24.548 | 1.103 | 6 |
