Max Verstappen will start the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season from pole position after setting the pace in qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The two-time world champion comfortably beat teammate Sergio Perez, who lines up alongside the Dutchman on the front row, while both Ferraris sit on row two, with the third row occupied by the two Mercedes cars.
In the battle between Alpine and McLaren for fourth in the constructors’ championship, there was disappointment for the French manufacturer as Fernando Alonso missed out on a spot in Q3, but he’ll start ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, as the McLaren driver has a three-place grid penalty for causing a crash at the previous race.
In his final qualifying as an F1 driver, Sebastian Vettel made it into the final part of qualifying, despite complaining of issues with traffic during Q2.
Provisional qualifying result:
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Lando Norris (McLaren)
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
10. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)*
11. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
12. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
13. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
15. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
17. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
18. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
19. Alex Albon (Williams)
20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
*Ricciardo has a three-place grid penalty for causing a crash at the Brazilian Grand Prix