Abu Dhabi – Qualifying: Hamilton gives himself the right to dream, Rosberg secures the essentials

Before the epilogue of tomorrow’s race, a penultimate chapter was to be written this Formula 1 season. The summit duel between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton also involved the fight for the best time in the qualifying session. From then on, the faster of the two would gain a certain moral advantage before the start of the final round in 24 hours.

Indeed, under normal circumstances, the rest of the field seemed destined for the second row at best, given the performances shown during Free Practice [1](URL) and [2](URL). However, a wave of doubt swept through the session with Sebastian Vettel’s best time in [FP3](URL). A performance to be taken with a grain of salt since it was achieved during the day. But it is indeed the twilight and night that would set the stage for this crucial session.

On the weather front, the dry conditions remained obviously dry at this point in the session. However, there was a north wind bringing with it some grains of sand onto the track. So, could Scuderia Ferrari shake things up with Red Bull? For Hamilton or Rosberg, maximum concentration with the pole in sight.

Q1: Hamilton eight-tenths ahead of Räikkönen, Rosberg a full second behind!

The ultimate qualifying session traditionally started with Q1, lasting 18 minutes.

GREEN LIGHT: Q1 🚦

The crucial final race for pole of @ymcofficial is under way at https://t.co/rY8QCVIll4 pic.twitter.com/Akl923kYr5

— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 novembre

Still entangled with his suspension problems in FP3, Daniil Kvyat was the first to hit the track on ultra-soft tires. Symbolically, one of the two future retirees was briefly in the lead, with Jenson Button ahead. But very quickly, the Mercedes cars emerged. Lewis Hamilton was driving just ahead of Nico Rosberg. And the first match of the session was in favor of the Englishman. 1:39.487 for Hamilton, 1:40.511, both on ultra-softs. Clear difference in attitude: an aggressive lap from the championship contender, a cautious lap from the overall leader, who, however, reported “some mistakes” on his radio.

Number 44 took the lead in this Q1: which driver could beat him then? After the FP3, we were curious to see the first times of the two Ferraris. The answer: after the first flying lap, Räikkönen, in second, was eight-tenths behind, himself just ahead of Vettel. A gap, therefore, separated Hamilton from the others, for the moment.

On the contrary, the drivers in the danger zone were the following: with 5 minutes remaining: Palmer, Kvyat, Sainz, Ericsson, Ocon, and Nasr, who was last. In 16th place, Pascal Wehrlein was on the right side of the cutoff. Despite being tenth, Grosjean was complaining about the behavior of his Haas. Even Gutierrez was in a good position (12th).

After a few seconds of calm, 12 drivers returned to the track. Simply put, these were the competitors between the 10th position, that of Grosjean, and the 22nd, then held by Ocon. In the meantime, Nasr moved up to 16th place, pushing Wehrlein out. The checkered flag was waved: despite a solid improvement, young Ocon remained on the sidelines. In contrast, his teammate improved and advanced to Q2! A great performance from a driver fighting for the second 2017 seat at Sauber. The two Swiss cars were eliminated, as were the two Toro Rossos. It was to be expected: the Free Practice issues doomed Kyvat and Sainz, who finished modestly in second-to-last place.

Eliminated in Q1: Kyvat, Magnussen, Nasr, Ocon, Sainz, Ericsson

Lewis Hamilton’s time, however, suggested very promising prospects for the rest of the program…

Q1: Hamilton’s 1:39.487

⏱ 1.5s faster than leading Q1 time in 🇦🇪 last year

⏱ 0.750s faster than overall pole lap #AbuDhabiGP #Quali 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/P2DSnjLZae

— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 novembre /f1/actualite/21561-abu-dhabi-essais-libres-1-hamilton-devant-un-rosberg-dans-lattente.html

Q2: Rosberg returns to contention, Red Bull bluffs

Once again, Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg. Car number 44 was even the very first driver on the track! He set the initial benchmark on ultra-soft tires with a time of 1:39.382 for the Briton. Immediately after, Nico Rosberg set a more competitive time: 1:39.490. A closer gap than in Q1. Meanwhile, the slow-motion showed a small mistake in the 17th corner, just before passing under the gigantic hotel of Yas Marina. Even more interesting, Räikkönen set a very good lap, just four-tenths off Hamilton!

Reverse strategy on the other hand for Red Bull. Ricciardo had fitted the super-soft tires. A full second off the benchmark time for the Australian. Very good lap on the other hand for Verstappen, only 5 tenths off the lead. From then on, passage to Q3 for the two Mercedes men was almost assured, as was the case for the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.

The suspense turned to the allocation of the last four remaining places. Force India placed seventh (Hülkenberg) and eighth (Pérez), Williams ninth (Massa) and tenth (Bottas). Eliminated were, from 11th to 16th: Alonso, Gutiérrez, Grosjean, Palmer, Wehrlein, Button. The slow motion during the mini-break showed us a misunderstanding between Massa and Hamilton, who wanted to enter the pit lane; fortunately without consequences.

Erm – this isn’t supposed to happen during #Quali, guys#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/RSavD8ftaQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 26

But there was still a slot for the last laps on the track. The condition of the tarmac was improving and was going to benefit the lap times. The two Mercedes, as well as the two Ferraris, and also the two Force Indias remained in the box. Surprise: Red Bull sent their protégés back on track, equipped with ultra-soft tires. The team was deliberating until the last moment, but Verstappen and Ricciardo still aimed for a better lap time. Cunningly, both cars did not finish their efforts and aborted their attempts. Total suspense, as both had improved their times, and Verstappen was even the fastest driver in the second sector.

On the side of the fight for entry into Q3, Alonso made a good move by knocking Bottas out in the last lap! The only change in the composition of the final top 10. Grosjean lost his last Saturday duel against Gutiérrez. By the way, let’s applaud Jenson Button’s twelfth place. The other retiree treated himself to the final Q3 of his career.

Eliminated in Q2: Bottas, Button, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Palmer, Wehrlein.

Q3: Rosberg tried but Hamilton grabs the Pole!

The night had definitely fallen: the hour of the Star Wars battle had come! Right at the green light, Hamilton was the first to hit the track, ahead of Rosberg. But the German was actually in the best position: it was up to him to reverse a poorly started trend since the beginning of the weekend. Lewis Hamilton was therefore battling the clock, just before his great rival. And the first lap gave the advantage to the three-time world champion! Initially behind in the first sector, Hamilton took the lead in the other two: 1:39:013 in the end.

Nico Rosberg was defeated, and by quite a margin: three-tenths of a second. Fortunately for him, the German was temporarily in second place, at 1:39.359: also three-tenths of a second ahead, this time over Räikkönen. Ricciardo, Verstappen, Vettel, Hülkenberg, Pérez, Alonso, and Massa (no time) completed the standings after the first stint. The first round was over, and the nine drivers returned to their pits for a moment.

Was Nico Rosberg going to turn the tide at the very end of Q3? Still in the same order of passage, the two aces were battling for a crucial pole. And the German was ahead in the last two sectors. Everything was going to be decided in the final sector: Rosberg improved, just like Hamilton!

Lewis Hamilton will start in pole position for the season finale. Alongside him will be Nico Rosberg, who will be under direct threat from other competitors. Behind them, Daniel Ricciardo takes the title of the first pursuer, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. Vettel was placed in front of Verstappen, who aborted his final lap. The number 44 will be in pole for the 61st time in his career, the 12th time this season!

BREAKING: @LewisHamilton claims pole for Sunday’s #AbuDhabiGP ahead of championship leader @Nico_Rosberg pic.twitter.com/u8q8Erw5QV — Formula 1 (@F1) 26 novembre.

Voici le classement final de cette dernière séance qualificative:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: @LewisHamilton claims pole position for tomorrow’s title decider at the #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1Finale #Quali pic.twitter.com/nGPjqkPvZg

— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 novembre /f1/actualite/21561-abu-dhabi-essais-libres-1-hamilton-devant-un-rosberg-dans-lattente.html

The meeting is now set for tomorrow at 1:45 PM for the conclusion of this season /f1/actualite/21561-abu-dhabi-essais-libres-1-hamilton-devant-un-rosberg-dans-lattente.html. The race, commented in live text, will also be available on our site!