Biding to capture its first Formula 1 Constructors’ championship since 1998, McLaren kicked off the season finale weekend in Abu Dhabi on the right foot as drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri notch the front row in Qualifying under the Yas Marina Circuit floodlights.
The Woking-based outfit arrived in the Gulf Region leading Scuderia Ferrari by 21 points, with 44 points still on the line.
And though the points are scored on Sunday’s race, locking out the front row may be crucial for McLaren to achieve the goal the team is chasing.
On paper, the race track offers overtaking possibilities, but when it comes to the facts, the stats tell a much different story for race winners.
Since its inception in 2009, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been staged at the Yas Marina Circuit 15 times. The last 11 editions saw the poleman storming to victory.
On Saturday qualifying, the 16th edition of the glamorous Grand Prix saw how the McLaren drivers dealt their cards wisely.
Briton Lando Norris secured his eighth pole position of the year, matching four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, who achieved the feat at the Las Vegas GP late last month.
“A very good day for the team,” outlined the 25-year-old. “We were quick all the way through Practice, but Qualifying was a little bit trickier than we had hoped. My final Q3 lap was strong, and we can be very pleased to have both cars on the front row. The team has done an incredible job, but we will remain focused going into tomorrow’s race.”
Meanwhile, Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri crossed the finished line P2 to lock the front row.
Title contender Ferrari will follow the papaya drivers from P3 with Carlos Sainz, setting a personal best qualifying result in Abu Dhabi only two-tenths adrift of McLaren in his last weekend driving for the Italian squad before joining Williams next season.
Thus far, the Spaniard’s teammate Charles Leclerc has not found the same success.
The Monegasque racer, also in contention for the Drivers’ championship runner-up spot against Norris, received a 10-place grid penalty on Friday as the team had no option but to replace the energy store in his car.
He will start at the back of the grid, forced to do a recovery race to keep the Prancing Horse’s hopes of winning the Constructors’ title alive.
In his post-qualifying interview, the 27-year-old asserted: “Obviously, this one is on me. It’s not been an easy weekend, but I still feel everything is possible. I’ll do my…
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