(Abu Dhabi) Max Verstappen seized the lead in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday and will look to complete a season of dominance with a 19th victory.
A victory on Sunday would give the Red Bull driver a 54th career victory, which would put him ahead of Sebastian Vettel for third place in the sport’s history.
The three-time reigning world champion’s 12th season lead gave him 32 in his career. Verstappen will start the race ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.
“Never bet against me,” Verstappen said, jokingly referring to a comment from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Horner informed Verstappen that he had won a 500 euro ($547 Canadian dollar) bet with Red Bull boss Helmut Marko over the Dutchman’s qualification.
“You just won me 500 euros,” Horner told Verstappen on the radio as the driver crossed the finish line.
With just a few minutes left in the session, Verstappen led from Lando Norris, also of McLaren, and Piastri under the floodlights at the Yas Marina circuit.
Norris slipped while pushing his car hard on his last timed lap and Piastri beat him. Leclerc climbed the standings on his final lap to place himself just 14 hundredths of a second behind Verstappen.
” Everything went well. I am very happy with this round, because I did not expect to be at the front of the line, said Leclerc. It’s a nice surprise. »
George Russell (Mercedes) qualified fourth ahead of Norris. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) completed the top 10 in order.
The session was not successful for Mercedes team driver Lewis Hamilton, who settled for 11th place, as well as Carlos Sainz Jr., who took his Ferrari to 16th position.
Quebecer Lance Stroll, aboard his Aston Martin, will start from 13th place.
Sainz failed to qualify for the second part of qualifying and he complained about congestion on the track towards the end of the first part of the session.
Sainz is the only driver other than Verstappen or Perez to have won a race this season. His poor performance during qualifying could jeopardize second place in the constructors’ championship, while the fight is close between Ferrari and Mercedes.
Before Sunday’s race, Mercedes led Ferrari by just four points. Teams get more money at the end of the season depending on their rank in the constructors’ championship.
But Mercedes are also struggling to find form and Hamilton was eliminated in the second part of qualifying. The seven-time F1 champion suggested there was “something wrong with that car” and that he faced the high probability of a second consecutive winless season.