Lewis Hamilton will start the 2016 Formula 1 season finale and title decider in Abu Dhabi from pole position after beating rival Nico Rosberg.
The British driver was quickest throughout qualifying, putting in a 1m38.755 to improve on his earlier time and cement his advantage at the front in Q3.
He will start from pole position, with Mercedes team-mate Rosberg four tenths further back ahead of Sunday’s championship fight.
Daniel Ricciardo improved late on to third, with both Red Bulls making it through to Q3 by using the super-soft tyre in Q2. They will start on the slightly harder compound.
Kimi Raikkonen was fourth, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, who aborted his last lap. The Force India duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez were next up.
Fernando Alonso snatched back ninth late on, with Felipe Massa having to settle for 10th in his last ever F1 qualifying session.
A late improvement from a rival saw Valtteri Bottas drop out of qualifying in Q2, setting the 11th best time for Williams.
Jenson Button, who could be competing in his final F1 race this weekend, was 12th, ahead of the Haas duo of Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean.
Jolyon Palmer was 15th in the lead Renault, while Pascal Wehrlein sneaked through to Q2 for Manor and was 16th.
Toro Rosso’s difficult weekend continued. Following punctures on Friday and a lack of running during practice, Daniil Kvyat ended up in 17th place and out of qualifying in Q1.
His team-mare Carlos Sainz Jr. also failed to make it through to the next segment and ended Q1 down in 21st.
Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Nasr were 18th and 19th, with Esteban Ocon in 20th and Marcus Ericsson propping up the order in 22nd after a mistake on his final lap.
Discussion about this post