Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying: Lando Norris takes pole as front-row lockout puts McLaren on brink of constructors' title
Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri in front-row lockout to put McLaren on brink of sealing Constructors' Championship; McLaren carry 21-point lead over Ferrari into season finale; watch the Abu Dhabi GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up from 11.30am
Saturday 7 December 2024 20:14, UK
Lando Norris led team-mate Oscar Piastri as McLaren sealed an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix front-row lockout that puts them on the verge of Constructors' Championship glory.
McLaren were already clear favourites to claim a first constructors' title since 1998 as they entered the season finale with a 21-point lead over Ferrari, but their position was significantly strengthened as Norris saved his best until last to edge Piastri.
Ferrari's hopes had already been massively dented when Charles Leclerc's Q2 exit - after a track limits breach - confined the Monegasque to starting from the back row of the grid following a 10-position penalty enforced on Friday for taking a new battery.
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Carlos Sainz did manage to take third for Ferrari but the Italian team will need something of a miracle in Sunday's race - live on Sky Sports at 1pm - to overturn their deficit.
World champion Max Verstappen had appeared to be McLaren's main rival for pole but uncharacteristically lost form with his final flying lap to finish fifth, before being promoted to fourth as a result of a grid penalty for Haas' Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg took a stunning fourth but will start from seventh after receiving a three-place grid penalty for overtaking two other cars in the pit lane exit road during a frantic finale to Q1.
His demotion also promoted Pierre Gasly to fifth, putting the French driver's Alpine team in a strong position to retain their five-point lead over Haas in the battle for sixth in the constructors' standings.
George Russell's streak of two successive poles was ended as he took sixth, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton qualified 18th after making a hugely unfortunate Q1 exit in his final Mercedes appearance before joining Ferrari, with a bollard pushed into the path of his car.
Fernando Alonso was eighth for Aston Martin, while Valtteri Bottas - on his final Sauber appearance - produced his best qualifying performance of the season to beat Red Bull's Sergio Perez to ninth.
McLaren finally unleash pace as Ferrari's woes worsen
McLaren had established themselves as clear favourites for pole after dominating second and third practice at the Yas Marina Circuit, but their advantage seemed to have disappeared in the first two parts of qualifying.
Verstappen suddenly appeared to be a serious contender and unlike the rest of the field, only needed one flying lap to advance from Q2, allowing him two fresh sets to his rivals' one for the final pole position shootout.
The Dutchman wasted the opportunity to apply major pressure to the McLarens as a big moment at the final corner saw him only marginally edge them on the first Q3 runs despite a tyre advantage that should have counted for more.
On the decisive second runs, with all of the top 10 now on new tyres, Norris and Piastri comfortably cleared Verstappen, who was unable to improve on his first lap amid a sudden loss of balance.
Norris' time of 1:22.595s put him two tenths clear of Piastri, and drew him level with Verstappen on a leading figure of eight pole positions for the season.
"A perfect day for us. Probably a bit tougher than we were hoping for," Norris said. "We are pleased with a one-two. Just a bit trickier than we would like. My lap in the end was strong. Just how we wanted to end today."
The pressure on McLaren to end a 26-year wait to win the constructors' title had already been eased by Leclerc's exit, which came after he ran marginally wide on the exit at Turn 1, a corner which caught several drivers out during the session.
It was an unnecessary error from the Monegasque given he had plenty of margin, as the lap momentarily put him top of the Q2 timesheet before it was deleted, dropping him to 14th.
Leclerc is spared starting from last due to the fact that Williams' Franco Colapinto drops below him from a qualifying position of 19th because of a five-place penalty for taking a new gearbox. Colapinto's team-mate Alex Albon drops from 16th in qualifying to 18th on the grid due to the same penalty.
It worsened a nightmare weekend for Leclerc which began with a bout of food poisoning on Thursday before the technical failure on his Ferrari during Friday's first practice resulted in a 10-place grid penalty.
McLaren can guarantee the title by scoring 24 points in the race, a figure that is easily obtainable given Norris and Piastri finishing in their starting positions would combine for 43 points.
Bollard misfortune ruins Hamilton farewell
The chance of the most successful driver-team combination in Formula 1 history ending on a high note took a turn for the worst in Q1 as Hamilton was hampered by both bad luck and poor execution by Mercedes.
The 39-year-old had impressed in practice but struggled in the early stages of Q1 before being left in a hugely vulnerable position as Mercedes sent him out with barely enough time to start his final flying lap before the chequered flag, but made it over the line with seconds to spare.
He appeared to be defying the challenge of driving close behind a car in front to improve his time sufficiently to advance, but then suffered a moment of huge misfortune.
Haas' Kevin Magnussen was trying to stay out of the way of Hamilton but accidentally hit a bollard and knocked it into the path of the Mercedes, before it became lodged underneath the W15 and caused a loss of performance in the final sector.
Hamilton, who has won 84 races with Mercedes but has struggled for form in the closing stages of his 12th and final season with the team, was philosophical regarding his misfortune.
"Just my luck, but it's OK," he told Sky Sports F1. "We tried so hard with the set-up, we got the car in a great place, and it was looking good in P3 so I was really thinking, 'maybe a podium is possible this weekend'.
"Then the timing was not optimised with the session because I was the last one on the track, and obviously I ended up behind one of the Alpines right at the end, so I just ran out of time."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff apologised to Hamilton for the team's role in his exit, describing it as "idiotic and inexcusable."
The penalties for Leclerc and the Williams duo mean Hamilton will start his final race for Mercedes from 15th on the grid.
Sky Sports F1's live Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Sunday December 8
7.10am: F1 Academy Race Three
9.20am: F2 Feature Race
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Abu Dhabi GP build-up
1pm: The ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Abu Dhabi GP reaction
4pm: Ted's Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch the final race of the 2024 Formula 1 season - the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's race at 1pm. Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW