Max Verstappen, second in the Formula 1 world championship, will start from pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after setting the best time in qualifying on Saturday ahead of his last two rivals for the title, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, second and third with their McLaren.
In the championship, the Briton Norris is 12 points ahead of the Dutch quadruple world champion Verstappen (Red Bull), a gap which rises to 16 points with his Australian teammate Piastri. These three drivers are the last still in the running to try to win the 2025 world champion title on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton only 16th
A podium at the end of the GP would automatically make Norris the 2025 world champion, regardless of the result of his competitors.
Behind his two competitors for the title, Piastri will start in front of the Briton George Russell (Mercedes) on the starting grid of the GP, which will take place at night, like the qualifications.
Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will start fifth, ahead of Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso, 44, sixth at the wheel of his Aston Martin.
For his last race of the season with Ferrari, which he joined in January, seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton will start from a very distant 16th place.
