ABU DHABI: Max Verstappen grabbed pole position and a key advantage for Sunday’s decisive season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a scorching late lap to beat title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Saturday’s tense qualifying session.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion clocked a best lap time of one minute and 22.207 seconds to beat series leader Norris by 0.201sec and Piastri by 0.230sec, ensuring that the three protagonists fill the top three places on the grid.
A nervy Norris needs to finish on the podium to land his maiden title while the 28-year-old Dutchman has to win and hope for assistance from others if he is to claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers’ title.
It was Verstappen’s eighth pole this year and the 48th of his career.
The two McLaren drivers were disappointed at the outcome, knowing that the last 10 Abu Dhabi races have been won by the driver in pole position.
“Of course, I am incredible happy to be in first and that’s the only thing we can do,” said Verstappen, who has won four times in Abu Dhabi.
“That was great work from everyone and let’s go out and have some fun tomorrow.”
Norris said he was disappointed to miss out on pole, but he would race to win on Sunday even if his 12-point lead over the 28-year-old Dutchman allows him to settle for second or third.
“Max did a good job so congrats to him,” said Norris. “We did everything we could and my lap was pretty good. We weren’t fast enough today. I still want to win and that’s how I am going into the race.”
Piastri, who is 16 points behind his teammate in the standings, is the outside in the three-way battle for the title and will be more than aware that there hasn’t been a winner off the front row in the last 12 races in Abu Dhabi.
“My last lap in Q3 was pretty good and there wasn’t a lot left in that,” he said.
“Max has looked very quick in the long runs so let’s see how much pace is a factor tomorrow.”
- Hamilton failure -
George Russell qualified fourth for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, two-time champion Fernado Alonso of Aston Martin, Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber and Esteban Ocon of Haas.
Racing Bulls’ Red Bull-bound rookie Isack Hadjar was ninth ahead of the man he will replace Yuki Tsunoda
Ferrari’s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton failed to proceed from Q1 for the third consecutive race.
Hamilton was one of the first to clock a time at the start, his Ferrari repaired after a final practice crash earlier, but he finished two-tenths slower than Leclerc to become the first Ferrari driver to record three Q1 exits.
He will start 16th on the grid but will perhaps take some solace from the memory of last season when he finished fourth in the race after again starting 16th.
Alex Albon in the Williams, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and the Alpine’s of Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Colapinto also went out in Q1.
They were followed in Q2 by Mercedes’ rookie Kimi Antonelli who exited in 14th along with Oliver Bearman of Haas, Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.
Verstappen was the only title contender with two sets of new softs saved for Q3 and, relishing his moment, he clocked 1:22.295 with help from a tow from Tsunoda, to set the pace, beating both McLaren men on his initial run by three-tenths and four-tenths.
It was a slip-streaming tactic that was not available to the McLarens, unless they used team orders — an advantage that Russell requested by asking to rejoin for his final run behind the Dutchman.
Verstappen, however, needed no assistance and delivered a stunning final lap to take pole, affirming his status as one of the greatest exponents of pure speed.
Max Verstappen outguns McLarens to take key pole in Abu Dhabi
https://arab.news/c7q59
Max Verstappen outguns McLarens to take key pole in Abu Dhabi
- A nervy Norris needs to finish on the podium to land his maiden title
- 28-year-old Dutchman has to win and hope for assistance from others if he is to claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers’ title
Manchester City narrow gap in table with dominant win over Sunderland
- Phil Foden also scored his fifth goal in three games
- Foden netted his own in the 65th minute with a goal that was all about Rayan Cherki’s jaw-dropping Rabona assist
MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s center backs Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol struck less than four minutes apart in the first half in a 3-0 thrashing of Sunderland that tightened the Premier League title race and kept the pressure firmly on leaders Arsenal.
Phil Foden also scored — his fifth goal in three games — as second-placed City seized the opportunity of Arsenal’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa earlier in the day to climb within two points of the leaders with 31 points after 15 games. Sunderland were provisionally seventh on 23 points.
While Pep Guardiola’s men dominated possession, neither side really threatened in the first half before Dias ended the deadlock in the 31st minute with a rocket from 30 yards out that took a slight deflection off Dan Ballard. Less than four minutes later, Foden whipped in a cross that Gvardiol leapt to head home.
Foden netted his own in the 65th minute with a goal that was all about Rayan Cherki’s jaw-dropping Rabona assist, a chip that Foden needed only to head home and then had the England midfielder shaking his head in disbelief at Cherki’s skill.
“I worked for that, I know my quality, my quality is my technique, when I play with Phil, Erling (Haaland), Omar (Marmoush), it’s very important to give the good balls for them,” Cherki told the BBC.
“Phil is a great player, he works for the team, runs for the team.”
Sunderland ended the game with 10 men after Luke O’Nien was shown a red card for a bad foul deep in added time.
City’s victory could have been even more lopsided. Haaland, who on Tuesday became the fastest player in history to score 100 Premier League goals, had a second-half shot cleared off the line after Cherki beat two men in the buildup.
Cherki had a great late-game chance when he beat Sunderland’s back line before cutting back and firing a low left-footed effort that Roefs dove right to push out of danger.
“Today it was a great game,” Cherki told Sky Sports. “We don’t want to concede goals and today we didn’t. Perfect day.
“We take the game one after one. We want to work for wins and games.”
There had been pre-game cheers at Etihad Stadium when Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendia scored the 95th-minute winner that sank Arsenal.
But a City victory felt far from certain after they had to fight off a ferocious comeback in a 5-4 win at Fulham on Tuesday. Sunderland have been excellent in their return to the top flight, taking points off Arsenal, Chelsea and, most recently, champions Liverpool in a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Wednesday.
“One of the best performances of the season against a team that’s done so much so far with top six,” Guardiola said. “The way you play, the way you perform is what tells you what’s going to happen in the future.
“We didn’t concede much ... and we created three chances.”
