The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took the pole position this Saturday in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the twelfth of his spectacular 2023, a year in which he began by starting first in Bahrain and will end it starting from that same position in the last of the campaign.
The Spanish Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), for his part, will start seventh and the Mexican ‘Checo’ Pérez ninth this Sunday, after a qualification in which the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) came second and the Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren), third.
Behind, the British George Russell (Mercedes) will be fourth, the British Lando Norris (McLaren) fifth and the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri), sixth, after a qualification with a clear reference.
‘Mad Max’, brand new three-time world champion, led the three rounds of the qualifying session, in which the Dutchman was as dominant in Formula One as he did throughout 2023, in which he won 18 of the 21 races it’s from the season.
The Dutchman set his best time when there were still more than five minutes left in the session and when all the drivers thought they had a chance to beat that record.
However, the British Lando Norris (McLaren) could not hold the three sectors at the pace of the first, despite having painted the first ‘purple’; Leclerc got close but not close enough and was just over a tenth away, and Russell failed to beat the time of the three-time champion, who ended up taking pole despite not beating his time on his second attempt.
Thus, Verstappen, with a time of one minute, 23 seconds and 445 thousandths, was 139 thousandths ahead of Leclerc and 337 behind Piastri, who surprised by surpassing his teammate, the British Lando Norris, who will start fifth, positions that They will allow McLaren to defend its fourth place against the Aston Martin, because although Alonso will start seventh, the Canadian Lance Stroll will start thirteenth.
Behind Alonso will be the German Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Pérez and, in tenth position, the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (Alpine), who beat the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in Q2 by 81 thousandths and who could not participate in the last round.
Following Hamilton will be the Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Stroll, the Thai Alex Albon (Williams), who finished fourteenth, and the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, fifteenth.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) had no luck, finishing sixteenth as he was unable to connect with a good lap in Q1, after a weekend in which he was barely able to ride because at the beginning of the second training session he crashed into the walls and could not continue.
Following him will be the Danish Kevin Magnussen (Haas), who will start seventeenth this Sunday, the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), who finished eighteenth, the Chinese Guagyou Zhou (Alfa Romeo), who finished nineteenth in Q1, and the American Logan Sargeant (Williams), who finished twentieth.
