A dramatic and ultra-competitive Qualifying session at Yas Marina delivered the perfect prelude to Formula 1’s season finale, with Max Verstappen stamping his authority in the title fight while New Zealand’s Liam Lawson was left to reflect on a razor-thin Q2 exit.
From early shock eliminations to a tense championship battle at the front, the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was decided by the finest of margins under the floodlights.
Q1 – Piastri quickest as Hamilton suffers shock exit.
Oscar Piastri set the early benchmark as the opening segment unfolded, topping Q1 in a tightly packed field where track limits drama and late improvements reshuffled the order repeatedly.
George Russell had briefly led the times on the opening runs, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris hovering inside the top group as the title contenders carefully built their sessions.
The big story came late in the segment, with Lewis Hamilton suffering a surprise elimination. Despite improving initially, he was pushed down the order by late flyers from midfield runners and failed to escape the drop zone. Williams’ Alex Albon also fell short, along with Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Eliminated in Q1: Hamilton, Albon, Hulkenberg, Gasly, Colapinto
Q2 – Russell flies, Lawson’s Q3 dream slips away
The intensity ramped up in Q2, with George Russell again finding strong pace to lead the field as lap times tumbled across the board. Verstappen, Norris and Piastri remained firmly in the mix, while the midfield fight became brutally tight.
Liam Lawson looked competitive throughout and sat within striking distance of the top 10, but Racing Bulls’ tyre strategy proved costly. After using three sets of softs in Q1, Lawson was left with just one fresh set for Q2.
On his final lap, Lawson gave everything but fell just 0.08s short of progressing. From 11th through to 15th, only six hundredths of a second separated the cars – a reflection of just how marginal the decision was.
Team-mate Isack Hadjar produced a strong lap to sneak into Q3.
Ahead, Gabriel Bortoleto impressed by surging into the top 10, while others were not so fortunate.
Eliminated in Q2: Bearman, Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli, Stroll
Q3 – Verstappen delivers under pressure
With the championship trio locked into the top-10 shootout, Max Verstappen made his intent clear immediately, setting the early pace in Q3 and then finding even more time when it mattered.
After setting an already rapid banker lap, Verstappen improved again on his final run, stopping the clocks at 1m 22.207s to secure a critical pole position for the title decider.
McLaren threw everything at Red Bull in the final minutes. Lando Norris closed the gap to just over two tenths, slotting into second, while Oscar Piastri ended the session in third to complete the front-three lockout for the title contenders.
Behind them, George Russell had to settle for fourth, followed by Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso.
A strong drive from Gabriel Bortoleto earned seventh, while Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10.
Top 10 in Q3: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Alonso, Bortoleto, Ocon, Hadjar, Tsunoda
Despite missing out on Q3, Lawson felt the underlying pace was there, but admitted the pre-planned tyre approach backfired.
“The car felt quick during Quali, so it’s frustrating to be out in Q2,” Lawson said.
“We ended up playing things too conservatively today by using three sets of tyres in Q1, which we didn’t need to do.
It meant we only had one new set for Q2, resulting in us missing out on Q3 by a small margin.”
He also pointed to his disrupted weekend preparation as a contributing factor.
“We obviously based a lot of our data on P2, but it was the first run in the car for me yesterday. So, yeah, frustrating,” he added.
With Verstappen on pole and Norris and Piastri directly behind, the championship fight is set to explode under the lights on Sunday.
For Liam Lawson, the job now turns to Sunday’s race, carving forward from 13th and giving Racing Bulls every chance to secure sixth in the Constructors’ Championship in one of the tightest midfield battles of the season.
Header Image: Sam Bloxham/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
