Abu Dhabi – Qualification: Hamilton sets his circuit record
This final qualifying session sees Lewis Hamilton once again prevail. At the wheel of his Silver Arrow, the Brit delivers a masterful lap and smashes the circuit record by nearly two seconds. The two Ferraris line up behind the Mercedes. Both Red Bulls will start from the third row. Romain Grosjean is the best of the rest, nearly a second and a half from pole.
The sun sets over the Yas Marina circuit, which hosts the last qualifying session of the year. The conditions are unique, with lighting that will change during the session, mixing natural and artificial light, which can disrupt the drivers’ braking points. The dropping temperature will also affect the track temperature. Anything is possible for this session.
The sun is setting, the floodlights are on – we’re ready to go 💪 #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/vEOeceT7Px
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
**Q1:** An unhappy Pierre Gasly, Ocon 4th
Kimi Räikkönen sets an initial benchmark time of 1:37.010 and secures the best time of the weekend on his first attempt, fitted with hypersoft tires. Sebastian Vettel, initially behind in the first two sectors, makes up for it and takes the provisional best time with 1:36.946.
Lewis Hamilton places his Mercedes in third position, less than a tenth of a second behind the German’s time.
The Red Bull team must position their cars optimally during this session if they want to compete for victory in the race, benefiting from favorable tire management.
The two Austrian single-seaters remain behind the two Ferraris and Hamilton and take the fourth and fifth positions.
Valtteri Bottas, poleman in 2017, finally wakes up and goes for the second time with a 1:36.789.
At the back, the two Williams round out the provisional time standings and are battling with the McLarens, Ericsson’s Sauber, and Magnussen’s Haas. Alonso remains in the running for Q2, provisionally holding 15th place.
The track suddenly improves and all the drivers set better times. In this situation, Magnussen and Ericsson move out of the elimination zone, causing the Toro Rosso cars to drop, with an unfortunate Gasly who, due to a technical problem, couldn’t accelerate in the final stretch of the straight. He comes to a stop a few meters further, after crossing the finish line. Fernando Alonso secures his position and continues the session into Q2. Notable is the superb time by Esteban Ocon, who finishes fourth in Q1.
Eliminated in Q1: Stroll, Sirotkin, Vandoorne, Gasly, Hartley.
BREAKING: ELIMINATED, Q1
16 HAR
17 GAS 📸
18 VAN
19 SIR
20 STR#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/OQCKhcOJKM— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
Q1 CLASSIFICATION: A superb final flying lap by @alo_oficial – he’s into Q2! #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/yn7GkVcO1F
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
Q2: Hamilton breaks the record, Alonso finishes:
Lewis Hamilton, on ultrasoft tyres, clocks a time of 1:35.693 and directly takes the circuit record. He relegates his teammate to six-tenths with a time of 1:36.392.
Ferraris can’t keep up and remain behind the Silver Arrows.
🔥 NEW TRACK RECORD 🔥
It’s a hot 1:35.693s from Lewis to go top in Q2!! VB is P2, but 0.6s shy of #LH44…
That was a special lap from Lewis on the Ultras! #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Astd3AxI4R
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 24 novembre 2018
At the bottom of the standings, Fernando Alonso is battling with the Force India cars, and once again with Ericsson and Magnussen. Esteban Ocon is unable to replicate his superb Q1 lap of 1:36.936. Verstappen is in 10th place and needs to get out of this risky position.
Last chance for the protagonists who are leaving the pits equipped with fresh tires.
Most of the drivers improve their times, notably Leclerc and Hülkenberg who place their cars in good positions. Alonso finishes his qualifying career in F1. Verstappen puts out a nice second fastest time.
Eliminated in Q2: Alonso, Perez, Magnussen, Ericsson, Sainz.
He pushed to the very end, but that’s a qualifying wrap for @alo_oficial #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kFwEguI5oY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
Q2 CLASSIFICATION: It’s Hamilton from Verstappen… #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xAb6BmVeOl
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
Q3: Hamilton untouchable
Night has fallen on the circuit, and the single-seaters are heading out for the last qualifying round. The cars are equipped with hypersoft tires with pink sidewalls.
Lewis Hamilton directly improves his previous record by clocking a time of 1:35.295.
Bottas is right on his tail at just over a tenth and has just overtaken Sebastian Vettel, who positions himself between the Mercedes with a time of 1:35.352.
Last lap launched for the drivers and the drivers are still improving times except for Hülkenberg and Verstappen.
Hamilton seems untouchable on this Yas Marina circuit by completely mastering his car and manages to set a time of 1:34.794 ahead of his teammate. Sebastian Vettel is three-tenths ahead of his teammate.
The Red Bulls follow in order of times ahead of Romain Grosjean, the best of the rest.
FULL QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION: @LewisHamilton‘s dashes to his 83rd career pole 👏#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/jY3uks32as
— Formula 1 (@F1) 24 novembre 2018
