Sebastian Vettel sealed his 14th pole position of the 2011 season in Abu Dhabi to match Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record for the most poles in a single year.
The German pulled out a last minute lap to steal pole position by just under two tenths from Lewis Hamilton who starts ahead of his teammate, Jenson Button.
The McLarens split the Red Bulls, whilst the two Ferrari cars will start P5 and P6. Mercedes secured the following two places with Force India completing the top ten.
Rubens Barrichello failed to set a lap after an oil leak and will start last alongside his teammate, Pastor Maldonado who qualified 17th, but was handed a 10-place penalty for his ninth engine.
For a full qualifying report, check out our live report here.
Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Q3 Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:40.478 | 1:38.516 | 1:38.481 |
| 04. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:40.167 | 1:38.821 | 1:38.858 |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:39.782 | 1:38.434 | 1:38.622 |
| 03. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:40.227 | 1:39.097 | 1:38.631 |
| 14. | B. Senna | Renault | 1:41.391 | 1:41.079 | |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:41.380 | 1:39.058 | 1:39.058 |
| 06. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:41.592 | 1:39.623 | 1:39.695 |
| 09. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:40.595 | 1:40.205 | 1:40.768 |
| 17. | P. Maldonado* | Williams | 1:42.258 | 1:41.760 | |
| 16. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:41.613 | 1:41.240 | |
| 11. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:41.311 | 1:40.874 | |
| 12. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:40.955 | 1:40.919 | |
| 24. | R. Barrichello | Williams | No Time | ||
| 08. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:42.605 | 1:40.554 | 1:40.662 |
| 07. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.120 | 1:39.420 | 1:39.773 |
| 13. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:41.737 | 1:41.009 | |
| 15. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:41.386 | 1:41.162 | |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:41.064 | 1:40.414 | No Time |
| 19. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:43.884 | ||
| 21. | D. Ricciardo | Hispania | 1:44.641 | ||
| 18. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:42.979 | ||
| 22. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:44.699 | ||
| 20. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:44.515 | ||
| 23. | V. Liuzzi | Hispania | 1:45.159 | ||
| Q1 107% Time: | 1:46.766 | ||||
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