Verstappen Claims Pole For 2023 Abu Dhabi GP

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has claimed pole for the 2023 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen recovered from a scrappy FP3 where he finished sixth to dominate Qualifying to claim his 12th pole position of the season, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

McLaren meanwhile enjoyed a strong day as Oscar Piastri qualified third ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, whilst Lando Norris found himself fifth but highest-qualified out of himself, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz in their scrap over fourth in the drivers’ standings.

Now here is a roundup of the final FP3 and Qualifying sessions of 2023 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

FP3

Despite having lost 34 minutes of track time and half of the grid having sat out FP1 on Friday, many drivers weren’t in a worry to head out except Lewis Hamilton, who set a benchmark 1m 26.612 in the fourth minute on soft tyres.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz went 0.003 seconds faster two minutes later albeit on medium tyres, only for the pair to be displaced by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on 1m 25.417 on soft tyres in the ninth minute.

Few drivers got close to Perez’s lap time until George Russell posted 1m 25.163 in the 16th minute, which he lowered to 1m 24.829 ahead of the qualifying simulations as he headed Max Verstappen and Perez at the halfway mark of the session.

Williams’ Alex Albon got closest amongst the early qualifying simulation runners as he fell 0.100s shy, before Russell lowered his benchmark time to 1m 24.418 with 15 minutes left on the clock.

At the checkered flag, Russell’s lap time couldn’t be betted as McLaren’s Lando Norris fell 0.095s shy in second ahead of teammate, Oscar Piastri as Albon surpisingly rounded out the top four ahead of Charles Leclerc and Verstappen who encountered setup issues.

Sainz meanwhile finished slowest of the entire grid after struggling to deliver on his qualifying simulation, whilst the top 15 were split by just 0.987s.

Qualifying

Q1

After a three-and-a-half minute delay as nobody opted to head straight out once the pit exit light turned green, Sargeant was first out and set a benchmark 1m 24.722 which got deleted due to track limits.

Verstappen meanwhile set the immediate pace behind the American with a Q1 topping 1m 24.160 and once everyone attempted to set a lap time, the elimination zone compromised of; Gasly, Magnussen, Sargeant, Zhou and Hulkenberg.

The latter trio however had their lap times deleted after they exceeded track limits on their first flying laps.

Williams subsequently opted to send Sargeant out early for his final flier which paid off with three minutes left on the clock, as the American rookie produced 1m 24.532 to go fourth-fastest only for his time to again be deleted after he exceeded track limits at Turn 1.

Sargeant consequently qualified last and lost his Williams head-to-head record against Albon 22-0 across the entire season, whilst Zhou joined him on the last row behind Bottas and Magnussen as Sainz suffered a shock Q1 exit in 16th position.

Q2

Albon was first out on track as everyone except Verstappen ran used soft tyres in their opening Q2 runs and set a benchmark 1m 24.965, which was usurped by several drivers as Verstappen again set the pace with 1m 23.740 which proved enough to top the segment.

Once everyone completed their opening laps, the bottom five compromised of; Ricciardo, Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Hulknberg, with Hulkenberg having seen his lap time deleted after he exceeded track limits.

Albon meanwhile moved up to fifth after he went early on his final flier like in Q1 and posted 1m 24.439 which dropped Hamilton into the danger zone.

As the checkered flag fell, Hamilton was eliminated by his teammate – Russell who finished fourth-fastest with Ocon, Stroll, Albon and Ricciardo also eliminated behind the seven-time champion, with the eliminated quintet split by 0.083s.

Q3

Verstappen was first out on track as he sought to get a banker lap in early and set a benchmark time of 1m 23.445 in the fourth minute, as Norris and Piastri slotted into second and third on used soft tyres ahead of; Russell, Perez, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Leclerc and Gasly.

As the checkered flag fell, Verstappen claimed his 12th pole position of the season despite having failed to improve on his fastest lap.

Leclerc qualified second ahead of Piastri, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Perez and Gasly.