F1 RECAP: Max Verstappen grabs pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi GP qualifying
MAX VERSTAPPEN will start on the front row ahead of Lewis Hamilton in Sunday's decisive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton goes undercover to inspire school children
Max Verstappen took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton for this weekend's title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Saturday's qualifying session. The two rivals head into the season finale on the same number of points as the battle for Drivers' Championship glory comes down to the wire.
Hamilton and Verstappen both have 369.5 points after the Brit claimed a hat-trick of wins to eliminate the gap between them.
The championship comes down to a straight shoot-out, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a winner-takes-all scenario.
However, Verstappen has more race wins than Hamilton this season and will take the title if both drivers fail to finish.
Hamilton set the pace in FP3 on Saturday morning but was unable to pip his rival to pole position, with Verstappen finding his best form to deliver in qualifying.
The Dutchman was given a monumental tow by Perez to aid his straight-line speed in Q3, a tactic which ensured his place at the front of the grid for tomorrow's race.
Recap Express Sport's live updates from the day's action as well as all the news and fallout below.
KEY EVENTS
- Goodbye16:20
- VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE!14:04
- End of Q213:45
- End of Q113:22
- Horner plays down Red Bull problems12:49
- Advantage Hamilton11:08
- Hamilton setting the pace10:30
- Final practice is underway10:06
- Nico Rosberg provides insight into what Max and Lewis are going through09:49
- Sir Jackie Stewart makes title prediction09:15
- Morning, folks!08:54
Goodbye
That's all we've got time for this afternoon.
Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of today's events at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen taking pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton with a stunning performance in qualifying.
We'll be back for the big one tomorrow, with the five red lights set to go out at 1pm. See you then!
Tomorrow. \u2694\ufe0f pic.twitter.com/bWZq9e11U2
\u2014 PUMA (@PUMA) December 11, 2021
Norris: I'm a bit nervous
Lando Norris has admitted that he is worried about the possibility of affecting tomorrow's duel between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the Drivers' Championship title.
The Brit will start from third place on the grid after an impressive showing in Saturday's qualifying session, meaning that he could be directly behind the two title contenders when the drivers pile into Turn One at the start of the race.
"I'm a bit nervous, because I kind of want to just stay where I am, and just watch everything unfold over the first few laps, or even the whole race," said Norris.
"I also don't want to really get involved too much because it can cause a lot of controversy. So I don't know.
"I don't know whether to go for the move or not go for the move, you tell me. But I'll do my best and, if I have a chance, I'll go for it."
Wolff: Lewis will be angry
Toto Wolff is expecting Lewis Hamilton to be fuelled by anger and determination when the five red lights go out at the start of tomorrow's race.
The Mercedes team principal told Sky Sports F1 that although the Silver Arrows will be on the back foot, he is confident in Hamilton's ability to deliver on the biggest stage of them all.
"There is nothing you need to say [to Hamilton]," said Wolff.
"I think he is going to be angry, and that’s good, motivated for tomorrow to just hunt him [Verstappen] down.
"We are on the back foot, and sometimes you need to see the positives, sometimes that’s not bad as a starting point."
Horner weighs in
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that he was blown away by Verstappen's incredible effort in qualifying with the stakes at their highest in Abu Dhabi.
"That's one of Max's best laps of the year," Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"Even on the following lap that we got him to back off on, he matched the time and the tow was probably worth a tenth or two, not half a second.
"His last sector, when you look at the level of downforce he's got on, it's insane, it's absolutely insane."
Rosberg: It's on!
Nico Rosberg has warned Max Verstappen that he could struggle to keep Lewis Hamilton at bay over the course of tomorrow's race despite him starting from pole position on the faster soft tyres.
"The race is on," the one-time world champion told Sky Sports F1.
"Having Lewis behind on a tyre that’s better over a certain stint is not the thing you want to have when you’re fighting for a championship.
"The pressure on Verstappen in the race in the first stint tomorrow, it’s going to be good."
The top 10
Here's your top 10 ahead of tomorrow's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix...
\ud83c\udfc1 TOP TEN (END OF QUALIFYING) \ud83c\udfc1
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) December 11, 2021
Verstappen
Hamilton
Norris (\ud83d\udcf8)
Perez
Sainz
Bottas
Leclerc
Tsunoda
Ocon
Ricciardo#AbuDhabiGP \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddea #F1 pic.twitter.com/g8aTHRq5jx
Hamilton: Max did great
Hamilton is next up and begins by congratulating Verstappen on his excellent pole lap.
"Max did a great lap today," says the seven-time world champion.
"We just couldn’t compete with that time at the end there. It was looking really strong through practice.
"That was a fantastic lap from him. We’re in a good position with our tyres for tomorrow and I hope we can have a good race."
The drivers speak
Verstappen is the first driver to speak to David Coulthard for Sky Sports F1 as the post-qualifying interviews get underway.
"This is of of course what we wanted but never easy with their [Mercedes] form in the last few races," he says.
"Now I'm just looking forward to tomorrow because that's the most important.
"I felt good on both tyres. Naturally now in the evening it's a bit cooler so it should be a bit easier for the soft tyres, but we'll see tomorrow.
"It's very important to have a good start and from there onwards we just try to do our race to the very best, then we'll see where we end up."
VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE!
Verstappen will start tomorrow's title decider from the front of the grid!
He was given an almighty tow by Perez on his first run, with his initial time of 1:22.109 proving more than enough to keep Hamilton at bay.
The Mercedes man gave it everything on his final lap but was simply unable to dethrone the Dutchman, who will be in a brilliant position to win tomorrow's race on soft tyres from pole!
VERSTAPPEN TAKES POLE!
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) December 11, 2021
It's his tenth of the year, and it means he has the best seat in the house for the final race!
Hamilton will line up alongside his title rival, with Norris in third#AbuDhabiGP \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddea #F1 pic.twitter.com/XkdfD9VAiB
Q3 begins...
The 10 remaining drivers emerge from the pits as the final session gets underway.
Who will claim the final pole position of the season at the Yas Marina Circuit? We'll find out in just under 12 minutes.
End of Q2
Verstappen returns to the track on a fresh set of soft tyres and sets the quickest lap of the session!
Hamilton, who will now start tomorrow's race on a different set of tyres to his Drivers' Championship rival, is pipped to second place by Sergio Perez.
Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel have been knocked out.
Nicely done, Team. Lewis and VB clear Q2 in P3 and P6. Both will start on the Mediums tomorrow. \ud83d\udfe1\ud83d\udcaa pic.twitter.com/zxuyPGGThE
\u2014 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 11, 2021
Headache for Verstappen?
Verstappen runs slightly wide at Turn 1 after his flying lap and then complains via team radio that he has flat-spotted his tyres.
It remains to be seen whether the Dutchman will go out for another run in order to change the tyres that he will start with in tomorrow's race.
The action resumes
The cars are back out on track for Q2, with five more drivers set to be knocked out before the final session.
The 10 drivers who make Q3 must start the race with the tyres they set their best Q2 time on. Everybody else will have a free tyre choice for the start.
Mercedes and Red Bull have opted for medium tyres.
End of Q1
Hamilton improves on his first lap time to stretch his advantage over Verstappen at the end of the session.
Valtteri Bottas produces a solid effort to claim second place, 0.272s adrift of his Mercedes team-mate.
Nicholas Latifi, George Russell, Kimi Raikkonen, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin have been eliminated.
Comfortably through Q1 \ud83c\udfc1 Max and Checo advance in P3 and P4 \ud83d\udc4f #AbuDhabiGP \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddea pic.twitter.com/GKlfINPtGe
\u2014 Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) December 11, 2021
Back underway
The bollard is quickly removed from the track and the green flags are waving once again.
There are less than five minutes of the session remaining.
Red flag
The session is red-flagged after Lando Norris hits a stray bollard on the home straight at the end of his flying lap.
The McLaren driver and his car are unscathed but it will need to be cleared in order for the action to continue.
Hamilton currently sits at the top of the order, less than one-tenth of a second ahead of Verstappen in second place.
Here we go...
The lights are green and the cars are beginning to emerge from the pit lane for the start of Q1.
Hamilton and Verstappen will be looking to avoid an early exit with a couple of solid laps in the first part of today's qualifying session to see them through.
Horner plays down Red Bull problems
Max Verstappen appeared to suffer some rear wing issues again in the final practice and has only just had a new one placed on it as mechanics work heavily on his car before qualifying.
Christian Horner, however, has insisted it is only a minor problem.
'These cars are getting a little tired now,' Horner told Sky Sports. "It's a problem we hadn't seen before. It would have been alright to continue running. But as a precaution, we changed the part, and we've checked obviously Checo's car as well."
Horner also says that Verstappen is currently running a "Monza style" rear wing to compete with Mercedes on the straights.
He added: "It's making it a little bit exciting through the final sector but bringing us a little bit closer through one and two. Otherwise I think we just wouldn't be able to race."
F1 title permutations
We've crunched the numbers and worked out all the scenarios how Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can be crowned F1 champion tomorrow.
Hamilton engine update
Toto Wolff has revealed whether or not Lewis Hamilton will change his engine before the Abu Dhabi GP.
There was talk that Mercedes could make the decision to change Hamilton's engine in a bid to give him more power and aid his title hopes.
A new internal combustion engine means a significant power boost, but that comes at the expense of a grid penalty if you've already used up your allowance of three per car.
It's a 10-place handicap for the fourth power unit, while any subsequent penalties are only half of that. Wolff has now confirmed Mercedes' plan of action.
Hamilton and Verstappen given advice by Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen has warned title hopefuls Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen of how crucial pole will be at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after changes to the circuit this season.
Hamilton and Verstappen head into the final race of the weekend tied level on points for the first time in 47 years, as either the Mercedes or Red Bull driver will be crowned champion on Sunday.
Advantage Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton went the quickest in FP3, finishing in front of Max Verstappen who came in second.
Here are how the rest of the drivers finished up:
Hamilton setting the pace
Lewis Hamilton is currently the quickest in final practice after a hugely impressive flying lap.
Valterri Bottas was the leader but Hamilton overtook him after registering a lightning-quick time of 1:23:274.
Sergio Perez is behind Botts in third while Max Verstappen is fourth. Just under half an hour to go now.
Final practice is underway
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are both out on the track for their final practice session.
Both drivers will be keen to make a statement here, but who will go fastest?
Stay here with us to find out.
Nico Rosberg provides insight into what Max and Lewis are going through
Nico Rosberg knows from experience the toll an intense title battle can take on a driver.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are in the midst of one of the most dramatic title battles of all time, with both drivers heading into the final race of the season on level points.
Rosberg has given an insight into what both drivers will be feeling like ahead of qualifying today.
"People say that Max doesn't get nervous, they look at this guy and think that because of the way he is, but that isn't true. He's human and he gets nervous.
"They'll both be a bit nervous, this is probably one of the most important qualifying races of their careers."
Asked about what his sleeping was like when he was involved in a title battle in his career, Rosberg added: "Sleeping was a nightmare. It was two to three hours max most nights."
Sir Jackie Stewart makes title prediction
Sir Jackie Stewart has weighed in on the F1 title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
The F1 legend gave his prediction for the Abu Dhabi GP and explained why he thinks there is one clear winner.
Morning, folks!
And welcome to today's live blog.
Yes, we are now just one day away from the climax of one of the dramatic F1 seasons of all time.
The two title protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will face off in qualifying ahead of what could turn out to be a crucial day in deciding the title.
Both drivers will be desperate to claim pole and take an advantage into the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Stick with us throughout the day as we'll be bringing you live coverage from qualifying as well as all the latest news in the F1 title battle.
So sit back, relax and stay right here.