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Max Verstappen gains the advantage after a blistering lap put him on pole position for the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The Dutchman was untouchable in Q3 as he will be joined on the front row of the grid by rival Lewis Hamilton with Lando Norris starting just behind him in third.
Q1
Sebastian Vettel was the first driver to emerge onto the Yas Marina Circuit as the final qualifying of the year got underway.
It was Sergio Perez who set the first competitive lap time of the session with a 1:24.253. Vettel was the next to cross the line but was over eight-tenths slower than the Red Bull driver.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda then jumped up to first but was quickly displaced from the top spot by championship leader Max Verstappen.
On his first flying lap, Hamilton set the quickest time of the session with Valtteri Bottas moving up to second, a tenth slower than his Mercedes teammate.
The two Red Bull’s of Verstappen and Perez lifted themselves up to second and third with the Dutchman five-hundredths slower than fastest man Hamilton.
Red flags were waved with six minutes to go after the Haas of Mick Schumacher smashed the bollard heading into the final corner.
Moments later, the drivers were back onto the track with Antonio Giovinazzi, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc looking to secure a place in Q2.
The trio were able to improve their positions on their second runs and confirmed their places in the second qualifying session.
Hamilton extended his advantage out in front even more as Bottas moved up to second at the end of the session.
The drivers eliminated from Q1 were: Nicholas Latifi, George Russell, Kimi Raikkonen, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Q2
Mercedes’ Hamilton and Bottas were the first drivers onto the track with the two AlphaTauri’s and two Red Bull’s closely behind them.
The championship battling Hamilton set the first competitive lap time of the session with a 1:23.185. Verstappen was only four-thousandths slower than his rival as he set the second-fastest time.
With eight minutes remaining, the soft tyre running Sainz went to the top of the timing sheets as he went one-hundredth quicker than Hamilton.
Five minutes later, the drivers all re-emerged back onto the circuit for their final flying laps of the second qualifying session.
Hamilton reclaimed the top spot with a 1:23.145 but Perez and then Verstappen pipped the Mercedes driver as the Red Bull’s will start tomorrow’s race on the soft tyres.
The drivers eliminated from Q2 were: Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel.
Q3
The Red Bull’s of Perez and Verstappen were out on the track first as the final top 10 shootout of the season got underway.
With a useful slipstream from his Red Bull teammate, Verstappen’s first lap time of a 1:22.109 was simply untouchable. Hamilton was next to cross the line and moved up to second, however, he was over half a second slower than the provisional pole-sitter.
Perez, on his second run, was able to go third fastest which relegated Bottas down to fourth as Tsunoda got his lap time deleted for a track limits infringement.
Three minutes remained and the drivers took to the track for the final time as they looked to improve on their positions ahead of the race.
Hamilton was able to improve on his time but not on his position as he had to settle for second with the McLaren of Lando Norris moving up to third after a tidy lap.
Verstappen’s first lap time was extraordinary as he claimed his 10th pole position of the season and gained the advantage ahead of the title showdown.
The Red Bull will be joined by Hamilton on the front row of the grid as the two championship protagonists looked to go toe-to-toe for one final time.
Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.
What’s Next?
In qualifying, Verstappen came out on top, but once the five red lights go out on Sunday, everything will be at stake as the Dutchman fights with Hamilton for the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship.
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