Verstappen takes a decisive pole in Abu Dhabi
- Charlotte Mui
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Charlotte Mui
Max Verstappen took the final pole of the 2025 Formula One season ahead of fellow championship contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen gives himself the best chance at a fifth consecutive title by putting in two pole-worthy laps in Q3. Norris, however, is still the favourite, as he starts second and will only need a third-place finish to secure the championship.
Qualifying 1
The final qualifying of the season got underway at 14:02 BST around the Yas Marina circuit. Tensions were high around the top three championship contenders, with all three vying for what could be a title-deciding pole position.
The Alpine cars were the first out on track, leading the rest of the cars out of the pit lane.
Lewis Hamilton set the early pace in the first phase of qualifying, putting in a 1:24.068. The seven-time world champion has had a rough time in qualifying as of late and will be looking to at least reach Q3 this session.
Verstappen then set a 1:23.325, going quickest overall. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda's flying lap put him fourth, three tenths back. This may be Tsunoda's final qualifying in F1 after news broke earlier this week that Isack Hadjar will be taking his seat at Red Bull next year.
With 10 minutes remaining, Norris set his first flying lap, but it only placed him third. Given the McLaren’s strong pace throughout practice, he likely made a mistake on the lap.
Ollie Bearman then went to the top of the timesheets with a blistering lap — another hugely impressive run from the rookie driver. Piastri slotted in just one thousandth of a second behind him.
George Russell then displaced Bearman at the top with a 1:23.247, only seven thousandths of a second quicker, leaving the top three separated by less than 20 thousandths of a second. The Mercedes cars may be factors in the championship fight this weekend, as they appear to have strong pace around this track.
With five minutes to go, Charles Leclerc remained in the elimination zone, needing a strong lap to pull himself out.
In the final two minutes, Norris began his second flying lap, needing a clean run to progress safely into the next phase of qualifying. He briefly went fastest, but was immediately displaced by his teammate, as Piastri went half a second quicker.
Verstappen then moved up to second overall, pushing Norris further down. Leclerc found the lap he needed to go fourth, but the same could not be said for his teammate. Hamilton was unable to piece together a clean lap and was knocked out by Gabriel Bortoleto, marking his third consecutive Q1 exit.
Q1 Eliminations
Lewis Hamilton
Alex Albon
Nico Hülkenburg
Pierre Gasly
Franco Colapinto
Qualifying 2
Verstappen was the first out in Q2, setting an early benchmark of 1:22.912. The Haas drivers followed as the next to put in flying laps.
With eight minutes to go, Russell went quickest overall on a set of used tyres. Meanwhile, both McLarens were on hot laps: Piastri went fourth, and Norris — finally piecing together a clean run — took second.
On his second flying lap, Verstappen improved but could only move up to second, still behind Russell. Leclerc also set a fast lap, but it was only good enough for tenth. The Ferrari in qualifying continued to look difficult to handle.
In the final four minutes, all the cars headed back out on track to set their final laps.
Leclerc was the first to post a time, but could only manage fourth — an unsafe position given the rapid track evolution. Bortoleto quickly displaced him.
Hadjar, in the his final race for Racing Bulls, knocked out his teammate and delivered a lap good enough for sixth. Alonso then went fourth fastest, continuing his excellent qualifying form as of late.
Q2 Eliminations
Ollie Bearman
Carlos Sainz
Liam Lawson
Kimi Antonelli
Lance Stroll
Qualifying 3
Verstappen, once again, was the first one out on track. He looked extremely quick from the outset, putting in a lap half a second faster than his best lap in Q2.
Meanwhile, Norris, on a set of used tyres, delivered a lap half a second slower than the Dutchman. Piastri was able to go a bit quicker, but also failed to take provisional pole.
Nerves seemed to be building for Norris, as he couldn’t find the pace he’d shown in practice. He only needed a podium finish, but a stronger starting position would certainly help him out.
With three and a half minutes left on the board, cars headed out for the final pole shootout. With everything still to fight for between the top three, it would come down to who could handle the pressure best.
Piastri was the first contender to set his flying lap and posted a 1:22.437, still slower than Verstappen's first push lap.
Norris, next across the line, was also unable to take pole away, but crucially got ahead of his McLaren teammate and will start on the front row.
Finally, Verstappen improved on his own time and will start from the front once again.
Sunday’s Starting Grid
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Fernando Alonso
Gabriel Bortoleto
Esteban Ocon
Isack Hadjar
Yuki Tsunoda
Ollie Bearman
Carlos Sainz
Liam Lawson
Kimi Antonelli
Lance Stroll
Lewis Hamilton
Alex Albon
Nico Hülkenburg
Pierre Gasly
Franco Colapinto
Looking Ahead
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will get underway at 13:00 BST tomorrow. The top three in the championship will start from the top three positions on the grid, but significantly, Verstappen will start from pole. Norris, only needing a third-place finish, looks well positioned, but anything can still happen.
Piastri, starting from third, can still win this championship, but will he be asked to sacrifice his own ambitions to help his teammate secure the title?
The 2025 World Drivers' Championship will be decided tomorrow, but will it be Verstappen with a fifth title or one of the McLaren drivers with their first?
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