Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, in their quest to clinch the constructors championship for McLaren, will begin the final race of the Formula 1 season at Abu Dhabi first and second.
Carlos Sainz, in his final race for Ferrari in their effort to usurp McLaren for the championship, will start in third.
LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE!!!
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
Team mate Oscar Piastri locks out the front row for McLaren with Carlos Sainz taking third 👏👏#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/jCHwf2RYUq
“A perfect day for us,” Norris said in the podium interviews. “Probably a little tougher than we were hoping for. We’ve been very quick all weekend. We’re pleased with a one-two, just a little bit trickier than what we would like. My lap at the end was strong.”
Ferrari must gain 22 points on the papaya pair on Sunday (Dec. 8) to end the night with the championship.
“I think we’ve made some good progress in the weekend,” Sainz said in his podium interview, following his final qualifying run in a Ferrari. “I think McLaren have shown all weekend they are a bit of a step ahead compared to everyone, really. And we were there, just a step behind, two or three tenths [of a second] behind.
“In Q1 and Q2, it seemed we were getting a bit closer, I put together some good laps. But then in Q3, when they put everything together, they still had this little advantage over us.”
Q3
The big surprise of this session was Nico Hulkenberg putting a heater of a lap together and qualifying in fourth. Haas has never finished on podium, and neither has Hulkenberg. Could there be one in the final race together for driver and team? It remains to be seen.
Hulkenberg has since been handed a three place grid penalty for overtaking on pit road during the session. He’ll be starting from the seventh grid box for the Grand Prix.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Leader |
| 1. | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:22:595m |
| 2. | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | +0.209s |
| 3. | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.229s |
| 4. | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | +0.291s |
| 5. | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.350s |
| 6. | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | +0.389s |
| 7. | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.537s |
| 8. | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.601s |
| 9. | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK Sauber Ferrari | +0.609s |
| 10. | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | +0.669s |
Q2
Charles Leclerc had his hot lap deleted in this round, relegating him to 14th. With his incoming grid penalty for replacing the battery prior to Friday’s practice session, that’ll send him to 19th to start the race.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 11. | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | +0.040s |
| 12. | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT | +0.093s |
| 13. | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | +0.405s |
| 14. | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.454s |
| 15. | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | +0.498s |
Q1
Perez briefly had his banker lap time deleted due to track limits.
Perez has his lap time deleted for track limits at Turn 1
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
Oooh, that's tight 🤏#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/uM045jQloz
A persumably successful appeal from Red Bull led to the lap time being reinstated, and got him into Q2.
Magnussen hit a bollard onto the track in the last minute of this session. It did not seem to mess up the Haas, but it did get run over by Lewis Hamilton on his final hot lap.
More on that bollard under Lewis' car 👀
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
Magnussen had a moment and dislodged a bollard into the path of an oncoming Hamilton in the final sector #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/o0Sdgm4IQ8
Hamilton failed to set a faster time than his banker and will start his final race for Mercedes deep in the pack.
| Pos. | Driver No. | Driver | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 16. | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | +0.027s |
| 17. | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK Sauber Ferrari | +0.086s |
| 18. | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.093s |
| 19. | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | +0.118s |
| 20. | 61 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | +0.311s |
The final race of the longest season of F1 racing is now upon us. Lights out for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will come at 8 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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