Max Verstappen Claims Abu Dhabi Pole as F1 Title Showdown Looms

Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen claimed a comfortable pole position for Formula 1’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with title leader Lando Norris second.

Verstappen, chasing a fifth-straight title, was fastest through both runs in the final part of qualifying, winding up with a time of 1:22.207s beneath the lights at Yas Marina.

Verstappen, who was aided by a tow from Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda, finished two-tenths of a second faster than McLaren drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Norris trailed Piastri after the first Q3 runs but jumped ahead of his teammate at the checkered flag by just 0.029s to secure a front-row spot next to Verstappen.

Norris heads into Sunday’s title decider 12 points clear of Verstappen and only needs to finish on the podium to be assured of the crown.

“We found a bit more lap time [in Q3], and of course I’m incredibly happy to be in first,” Verstappen said. “That’s the only thing we can do, that’s the only thing we can control, is maximize everything we have and what we can with the car. We did that in qualifying.

“Of course I’ll try and win the race and also in the back of my mind we want to score a lot of points to win that championship, and we need a bit of luck behind us.”

Norris said he will “decide when I have to,” in terms of the risk versus reward trade-off of chasing a victory while securing the podium he needs across the 58-lap race.

“Max did a good job, so congrats to him,” Norris said. “We did everything we could. I thought my lap was pretty good, I was pretty happy. Of course disappointed to not be on pole for the final weekend, we just weren’t fast enough today. We’ll have to try and do it tomorrow.”

Piastri remains in outside contention, 16 points behind his teammate, but must finish in the top two and hope trouble strikes his opponents.

“Until either Lando or Max cross the [finish] line in front of me, I still have a chance of the title, we’ll see how the race pans out,” said Piastri.

Mercedes’ George Russell looked set to be an interloper in the fight for pole position between the title challengers, but two scruffy ends to his respective Q3 laps squandered his prospects and he will start from fourth.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fifth position ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and impressive Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

Esteban Ocon put one Haas inside of the top 10 by taking eighth, with Verstappen’s 2026 teammate Isack Hadjar ninth, while Tsunoda completed the Q3 runners after his one timed lap was deleted due to track limits.

Lewis Hamilton’s miserable conclusion to his first season with Ferrari continued as he qualified in only 16th place.

Hamilton, who crashed out of final practice earlier in the day, was off the pace as he endured his third-straight elimination from the opening part of qualifying.

The Briton is facing the first season of his distinguished career without even registering a podium finish in a grand prix.