Max Verstappen secures Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pole ahead of Lando Norris

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Max Verstappen will start the 2025 season finale from pole ahead of Lando Norris as pressure begins to build on the three championship contenders.

Norris leads the standings ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Verstappen and Oscar Piastri closely behind heading into the final race of the year.

Ahead of qualifying, Red Bull shared that outgoing driver Yuki Tsunoda has seen his car fitted with an old-specification floor after a pitlane crash with Kimi Antonelli in FP3.

The first laps of Q1 saw Oliver Bearman top the timings ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, with Norris split from his championship rivals by Fernando Alonso. Bearman kept his position until George Russell put his Mercedes on top.

Franco Colapinto had his first two lap times deleted for track limits, with the young Argentine losing his first lap by running wide at Turn 1.

Norris was first out for his final Q1 lap, after finding himself in P7 with just minutes remaining. The Brit looked cautious on the brakes, especially around Turn 5, suggesting he didn’t have confidence in the McLaren.

After a crash in FP3 earlier in the day, Lewis Hamilton found himself out in Q1 for the third weekend in a row. The Brit was narrowly behind the sector times of leading Piastri in Sectors 1 and 2, but a difficult final part of the lap saw him out of qualifying.

Verstappen was the first back out on track during FP2, ensuring he had plenty of time to put some laps in, whilst McLaren held Norris for the optimal moment.

After initial flying laps in Q2, George Russell topped the timings ahead of Norris and Piastri, before Verstappen put himself ahead of both McLarens.

Charles Leclerc found himself under pressure in the final minutes of the middle part of qualifying, with the Ferrari sliding around at Turn 1. The Monegasque driver sat just outside the drop zone in P10, before putting himself in fifth.

Kimi Antonelli saw himself knocked out of Q2 after complaining he had “no rear” with his Mercedes. It was a shame for the rookie, with his teammate being top of the timings at the end of the session.

Bearman also saw a surprise Q2 exit after flying for most of the weekend. The Haas driver described his car as “incredible” during yesterday’s FP2, but was knocked out by just 1 hundredth of a second.

Verstappen once again went first with a Q3 lap, which saw him initially put in a really strong first sector. Yuki Tsunoda was used to give the Dutchman a tow during the back straight, which saw Verstappen set an impressive lap time, which initially couldn’t be matched by either McLaren driver.

Russell’s first flying lap on new tyres saw him place only fifth after losing grip under the hotel. The Mercedes driver had a massive slide at Turn 14, which saw him nearly in the barrier.

The Brit then asked his team to ensure he came out behind Verstappen for the final qualifying laps, hoping that the Red Bull would give him a tow and help pull him above the McLarens.

Russell just missed out on the top three after having another big slide in the final corner. It meant that the Mercedes stayed behind Piastri in third, with Verstappen and Norris starting the race from the front row.