Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, in their quest to clinch the constructors championship for McLaren, will begin the final race of the Formula 1 season at Abu Dhabi first and second.
Carlos Sainz, in his final race for Ferrari in their effort to usurp McLaren for the championship, will start in third.
LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE!!!
Team mate Oscar Piastri locks out the front row for McLaren with Carlos Sainz taking third 👏👏#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/jCHwf2RYUq
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
“A perfect day for us,” Norris said in the podium interviews. “Probably a little tougher than we were hoping for. We’ve been very quick all weekend. We’re pleased with a one-two, just a little bit trickier than what we would like. My lap at the end was strong.”
Ferrari must gain 22 points on the papaya pair on Sunday (Dec. 8) to end the night with the championship.
“I think we’ve made some good progress in the weekend,” Sainz said in his podium interview, following his final qualifying run in a Ferrari. “I think McLaren have shown all weekend they are a bit of a step ahead compared to everyone, really. And we were there, just a step behind, two or three tenths [of a second] behind.
“In Q1 and Q2, it seemed we were getting a bit closer, I put together some good laps. But then in Q3, when they put everything together, they still had this little advantage over us.”
Q3
The big surprise of this session was Nico Hulkenberg putting a heater of a lap together and qualifying in fourth. Haas has never finished on podium, and neither has Hulkenberg. Could there be one in the final race together for driver and team? It remains to be seen.
Hulkenberg has since been handed a three place grid penalty for overtaking on pit road during the session. He’ll be starting from the seventh grid box for the Grand Prix.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:22:595m |
| 2. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.209s |
| 3. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.229s |
| 4. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | +0.291s |
| 5. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.350s |
| 6. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | +0.389s |
| 7. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.537s |
| 8. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.601s |
| 9. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK Sauber Ferrari | +0.609s |
| 10. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.669s |
Q2
Charles Leclerc had his hot lap deleted in this round, relegating him to 14th. With his incoming grid penalty for replacing the battery…
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