F1: Verstappen shrugs off issues to assert twelfth pole of season

Max Verstappen made mild of earlier set-up issues on Saturday by blitzing to pole place for Crimson Bull in an eventful qualifying session for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The three-time world champion clocked a greatest lap in a single minute and 23.445 seconds to outpace nearest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by a tenth of a second forward of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

It secured Verstappen’s twelfth pole of the season, his fourth in succession in Abu Dhabi and the thirty third of his profession, drawing him degree with 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell within the document books.

There was merely no stopping @Max33Verstappen in qualifying 🥇

See how the Dutchman mastered the twists and turns of the Yas Marina Circuit 💪#AbuDhabiGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/QDmo4GXVUf

— Formulation 1 (@F1) November 25, 2023

George Russell was fourth for Mercedes forward of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri after Carlos Sainz did not make it out of Q1 within the second Ferrari and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was unable to progress from Q2 in his Mercedes.

“It’s all been very bizarre,” mentioned a beaming Verstappen. “All weekend it’s been a battle however we improved lots after which pushed and I’m comfortable to be on pole. The automobile felt extra linked in qualifying.

“I’ve no clue how the automobile will go within the race so let’s see, however I’m very pleased with our achievements this 12 months.”

Leclerc was additionally stunned at his success in claiming a entrance row begin.

“I didn’t anticipate it and I needed to put all of it collectively so I’m very comfortable to have second place,” he mentioned. “In Q1 and Q2, I used to be nervous about going via after which all of a sudden right here I’m P2! This automobile is so peaky.”

Requested about Ferrari’s prospects of overhauling Mercedes’ four-point benefit and taking second place within the constructors’ title race, he added: “Effectively I hope it goes effectively. It’s our goal to beat Mercedes and that’s all that issues this weekend.”

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso certified seventh for Aston Martin forward of Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez within the second Crimson Bull and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.

The session started underneath blazing floodlights following an excellent desert sundown with temperatures of 27 levels (air) and 33 (monitor).

After his issues searching for a set-up in FP3, when he was sixth, Verstappen was quickly on the tempo, clocking 1:24.160 to take management with no radio grumbles, his Crimson Bull team-mate Perez slotting into second late in Q1.

The luckless Sainz was a shock flop, the Ferrari driver eradicated after ending fifteenth and going out together with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant of Williams, whose two greatest laps have been deleted for exceeding monitor limits.

The Q2 part started with Alex Albon, nonetheless feeling sick, first out adopted by Hamilton, but it surely was Verstappen who dazzled once more, clocking the primary sub-1:24 lap in 1:23.740 to stamp his authority on proceedings with a contemporary set of softs.

Alas for Hamilton, a five-time pole-sitter on the Yas Marina Circuit, he couldn’t discover the tempo required and he was knocked out in eleventh together with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin, Albon and Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo.

“There’s one thing not proper with this automobile,” mentioned Hamilton, out-qualified by his team-mate Russell who was fourth behind Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc. The pair thus ended the 12 months 11-11 of their qualifying head-to-head duel.

The end result of such a detailed contest in Q2 was that eight completely different groups have been via to the highest ten shootout, solely Crimson Bull and McLaren succeeding with each drivers.