Verstappen secured his seventh pole position of the 2022 campaign with two laps that were good enough for the top spot, ultimately setting a 1m23.824s that was 0.228s quicker than his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
That came despite a “scare” when his car shut down ahead of his first Q3 run.
Double world champion Verstappen has pledged to help Perez in his battle for second in the standings with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who will start third alongside stablemate Carlos Sainz.
After its best weekend of the season in Brazil, Mercedes could only lock out the third row with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in what team boss Toto Wolff called “one to put in the toilet”.
As Lando Norris (McLaren) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) shared the fourth row, retiring four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel set himself up for a strong final F1 race with a decent effort to secure ninth on the grid for Aston Martin.
Daniel Ricciardo also secured a Q3 place on his last appearance for McLaren, but has a three-place grid drop for his clash with Kevin Magnussen at the Brazilian Grand Prix last time out, meaning the man who will replace Vettel next year – outgoing Alpine driver Fernando Alonso – will start alongside him in tenth.
Yuki Tsunoda is elevated to 11th for AlphaTauri ahead of Mick Schumacher in his final race for Haas and Ricciardo, while Pierre Gasly will line up 17th in his final start with AlphaTauri before joining Ocon at Alpine next season.
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
When is the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
- Date: Sunday 20th November 2022
- Start time: 1:00pm GMT, 5:00pm local time
The 22nd round of the 2022 F1 season, the Abu Dhabi GP at the Yas Marina circuit, gets underway at 5:00pm local time (1:00pm GMT) on Sunday 20th November.
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £20 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.98p or a month membership of £33.99p per month.
How can I watch the F1 Abu Dhabi GP?
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports will be live broadcasting the Abu Dhabi GP, with the race shown live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main…
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