Formula 1

Verstappen claims fifth Abu Dhabi pole ahead of Norris and Piastri

Fraser Masefield
1 month ago
4 min read

Max Verstappen kept his chances of a fifth successive F1 drivers’ title alive, taking pole position for the Abu Dhabi GP ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

A stunning 1m 22.207s lap was good enough to edge Norris and Piastri for his fifth Abu Dhabi pole and 48th of his glittering career.

“In Q2 I stayed on scrubbed tyres, and I think those laps felt quite decent. In Q3 with the track temperature coming down we could push a bit more and that’s exactly what we did,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 afterwards.

“We found a bit more lap time and of course incredibly happy to be in first. That’s the only thing we can do, right. It’s the only thing we can control, try to maximise everything we have with the car, and we definitely did that in qualifying.

“Of course I will try to win the race but in the back of my mind we need to score a lot of points to still try and win that championship so we need a bit of luck what’s happening behind us.”

For Norris, second on the grid is the next best prize and he only needs to finish on the podium to claim a first drivers’ title, regardless of what Verstappen does on race day.

“It was tough, tough,” said Norris. “Max did a good job so congrats to him. We did everything we could. I think my lap was pretty good, I was pretty happy, so yeah.

“Of course disappointed not to be on pole for the final weekend but we just weren’t fast enough today, so we’ll have to try and do it tomorrow.”

Norris will surely be content enough to know that a podium will be good enough. But he still has to negotiate a tricky first few corners, stay out of trouble and possible contact with others before thinking about that.

“The time will come to think on that. For now, disappointed not to be on pole and I still want to try and win tomorrow, so that’s going to be the goal.”

For Piastri, who led the championship by a significant 34 points after the Dutch Grand Prix, the chances of ultimate glory are now more of a long shot after a poor run of results.

He must hope misfortune befalls those starting ahead of him and then put together the drive of his life.

“I think it was pretty good,” added Piastri. “The lap I did in Q1 was nice to finally get into a rhythm through the weekend and the last lap in Q3 was pretty good as well. There wasn’t a whole lot left in that so just wasn’t quite quick enough today but that sets up a pretty exciting day.

“We will find out. I think Max has looked very quick in the long runs this weekend and clearly very quick over one lap but let’s see how much pace is affected tomorrow.”

Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi  (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool /

Fraser Masefield

Fraser is a sports and motorsports editor with over 25 years experience. The former head editor of WilliamsF1, BMW Motorsport, Jaguar Racing and Virgin Media, he has also worked for Autosport, ESPNF1 and Eurosport amongst others.

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