© Getty ImagesMax Powers His Way To Pole At Yas Marina!Max scored a sensational third career pole position in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
At the final qualifying session of the 2020 season Max put in a phenomenal final lap in Q3 to beat Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by 0.025s. Lewis Hamilton finished P3 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, and Alex will start from P5 on the grid.
Bottas set the pace in the opening segment of qualifying, with the Finn clocking an early benchmark of 1:35.699. Hamilton slotted into P2 but his lap was swiftly deleted for violating track limits at turn 20.
Max, meanwhile, had a tricky start to the session when Williams released Nicholas Latifi into his path in the pit lane. The Dutchman was forced to lock-up and flat-spotted his tyres.
He went out and set a time but in the final minutes of the session he dropped to P10 and was forced to run again. He immediately vaulted to P2 behind Bottas with a lap of 1:35.993. He was eventually shuffled to P4 as Hamilton grabbed top spot in the final runs and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took P3 ahead of Norris. Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez was P6 and Alex progressed in P7 with a lap of 1:36.106.
Alex Sets A Time On The Soft Tyres© Getty Images
At the other end of the timesheet, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen was eliminated in P16 after being beaten to P15 by teammate Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian eclipsed his Finnish teammate by almost half a second to edge their private qualifying battle 9-8. Räikkönen was followed out of the session by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ George Russell, Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi and Latifi.
In Q2 the Bulls and the Mercedes went out on medium tyres but Alex had his opening lap deleted for a track limits infringement at turn 21. He dropped to P13 on the timesheet in the closing stages and it meant that he needed a run on soft tyres to guarantee progress.
Max, meanwhile, opened with a time of 1:36.236. That landed him P5 and he admitted dissatisfaction with the lap, saying the tyres had gone off in the final sector.
He went for another run, on mediums, and in the final moments he jumped to P3 behind Hamilton and Bottas with a lap of 1:35.641. Alex followed him across the line with a good lap of 1:35.654 to take P4.
Somewhat surprisingly Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo were eliminated in P10 and P11 respectively, with the Renault being edged out of Q3 by the AlphaTauris of Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly. Also eliminated at this stage of the session were Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Pérez – who is facing a back-of-the-grid start due an engine change and failed to set a time in Q2.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Qualifying
Max On His Way To Pole Position© Getty Images
Alex Qualifies P5 In Abu Dhabi© Getty Images
Alex Out On Track For Quali© Getty Images
Bulls Side-By-Side For The Season Finale© Getty Images
Celebrations In The Garage For Max's Pole© Getty Images
Celebrating P1 With The Team© Getty Images
First Pole Of 2020 Feels So Good© Getty Images
Sparks Fly At Sunset© Getty Images
Max To Start Of The Medium Tyres© Getty Images
Taking The Curb In Quali© Getty Images
In the final top-10 shootout, Max signalled his intent with his opening run as he posted a lap of 1:35.519 to split with the Mercedes as Bottas took provisional pole.
When the final runs began, Hamilton was the first out and after setting purple times he took P1 with a lap of 1:35.332. That looked impressive but then Bottas snuck past the benchmark by six-hundredths of a second and it looked like Mercedes might be heading towards another front row lock-out.
Max, though, had other ideas and with a perfectly constructed lap the Dutch ace found the time required to edge past Bottas to claim his and the Team’s first pole position of the year.
Behind the top three, Norris took an impressive P4 to edge Alex by seven-hundredths of a second. P6 went to Carlos Sainz in the second McLaren with Kvyat an excellent P7 for AlphaTauri ahead of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, Leclerc and Gasly.
Max And The Team Celebrate Pole© Getty Images
“It was a very nice lap. I didn’t really expect to fight for pole today but it is very satisfying and at least we have one pole this year with the dominance Mercedes have had and we can be very pleased for that. Everyone is a bit tired at the end of such a tough season but I think for the mechanics and everyone in the Team this was a great boost.
We have a shot at the win but whatever happens today has been a great day.
"It wasn’t the most straightforward qualifying, of course initially I had my hand stuck under the wheel so I had a poor lap and then after that with the medium tyre it was not so easy but on the second run we made a few changes and then it seemed a bit better. Then in Q3 we had quite a decent lap and everything came together. It won’t be easy tomorrow as they have two cars behind me that can do different strategies and try to put me under pressure but I’m going to give it all I have and have fun out there. We have a shot at the win but whatever happens today has been a great day.”
“It was my best and most competitive qualifying of the year and whilst I’m happy with my performance I’m also annoyed as I made a small mistake in the final Q3 run and that was my lap done. The car was really hooked up, we had a good balance and I was feeling strong after the first Q3 run but I wanted it a bit too much. In sector one I pushed too hard too soon and the tyres were done from thereon so whilst the track was getting faster and faster I didn’t have the grip and couldn’t improve my time.
"But it was super close out there and the gap was the closest it’s been all year so there are positives to take and on a personal note it’s been a strong weekend for me, it’s progress and that’s important. Now I’m just focused on taking that into tomorrow’s race as it’s all still to play for out there and I’m positive we can do something good. Max getting pole is obviously great for the Team too so well done to him and now it’s all eyes on tomorrow and the last race of the season.”
Max put in a phenomenal performance today and strung together the perfect lap.
“Max put in a phenomenal performance today and strung together the perfect lap. He has just been mighty this year and you always know you can bank on him. He always gives it everything and he’s able to surprise you, like he’s done today, so now it’s important we convert that into a great result tomorrow. Everybody has worked so hard this year and as a Team it epitomises everything when it all comes together like it has today. The Team have kept improving the car this year meanwhile we’ve also had nine out of the top 10 fastest pit stops this year so the crew have just been remarkable.
Alex has also done a decent job today, it’s as close as he’s been in the past four or five races. "Alex has also done a decent job today, it’s as close as he’s been in the past four or five races, and he will play an important role in tomorrow’s race. I think the race pace on the soft tyre versus the medium hasn’t quite got the distance but it has the pace early on so hopefully he can get a good start and fight at the front.”
AbuDhabiGrandPrix-QualifyingTop10
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. |
| Max Verstappen | Valtteri Bottas | Lewis Hamilton | Lando Norris | Alex Albon | Carlos Sainz | Daniil Kvyat | Lance Stroll | Charles Leclerc | Pierre Gasly |
| Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | Mercedes | Mercedes | McLaren | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | McLaren | AlphaTauri | Racing Point | Ferrari | AlphaTauri |
