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2023 F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying results: Verstappen takes pole

Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'23.445  
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'23.584 0.139
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'23.782 0.337
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'23.788 0.343
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'23.816 0.371
22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'23.968 0.523
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.084 0.639
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'24.108 0.663
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.171 0.726
10  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'24.548 1.103
11  44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'24.359 0.914
12  31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'24.391 0.946
13  18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.422 0.977
14  23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'24.439 0.994
15  3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'24.442 0.997
16  55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'24.738 1.293
17  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'24.764 1.319
18  77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'24.788 1.343
19  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'25.159 1.714
20  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes - -

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1?

Verstappen produced the fastest time of 1m24.160s, 0.049s ahead of team-mate Perez.

Falling at the first hurdle were Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), the Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant (Williams, who lost both his flying lap times due to exceeding track limits).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.160   6
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.209 0.049 6
22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'24.286 0.126 6
23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'24.298 0.138 6
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'24.337 0.177 6
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.368 0.208 5
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.405 0.245 6
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'24.425 0.265 6
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 Piastri 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 Gasly 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 Sargeant Williams/Mercedes - - 6

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2?

Verstappen set the pace here too, recording a 1m23.740s on his opening run, 0.18s quicker than McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Knocked out at this point were Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Albon (Williams) and Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen fastest from Norris

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'23.740   3
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'23.920 0.180 5
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'23.969 0.229 6
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'24.013 0.273 6
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'24.078 0.338 6
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.116 0.376 5
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.131 0.391 6
22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'24.207 0.467 6
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'24.213 0.473 6
10  81 Oscar Piastri 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 Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.422 0.682 6
14  23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'24.439 0.699 6
15  3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'24.442 0.702 6

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Verstappen set the bar at 1m23.445s, 0.371s faster than Norris.

On the final runs, Verstappen didn’t improve but Leclerc jumped up to second, 0.139s off pole.

Piastri grabbed third from Norris, who made a big error on his final lap, and George Russell (Mercedes) just snatched fourth from his fellow Brit.

Behind Norris, Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) will start sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Perez (whose best time was deleted) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Laps 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'23.445   6
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'23.584 0.139 6
81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1'23.782 0.337 6
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'23.788 0.343 6
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'23.816 0.371 6
22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'23.968 0.523 6
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.084 0.639 6
27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'24.108 0.663 6
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'24.171 0.726 6
10  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'24.548 1.103 6
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