Yesterday it was time for the last qualifying session of the year. And what would have been more memorable and impressive venue than Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina Circuit with its artificial lights! Although both championships have already been secured, Abu Dhabi always brings extra magic into the season finale.
The pecking order of Mercedes and Ferrari seemed extremely evenly matched in the first session. Sebastian went fastest on his first run, with Kimi second. However, both Silver Arrows managed to improve their lap times on their second runs. Bottas moved second, being only marginal 0.014s off the German Ferrari ace. Hamilton in third was also only a blink of an eye behind Sebastian, the gap being 0.053s. The last-minute sensation of the first session was Force India's Ocon, who jumped fourth on his last run. Sauber's Leclerc continued his excellent performances, moving seventh at the end of the session. It was a bit surprising to see both Toro Rossos out of Q2. Gasly was setting a competitive lap time on his last flyer, but the Frenchman was hit with a technical issue, which dropped him out of the second segment. McLaren's Vandoorne was beaten by teammate Alonso for the 21st time this year, which is a crushing defeat for the Belgian driver. In addition to Vandoorne, both Williams drivers missed out on Q2 as well.
Q2 saw an expected tyre strategy in terms of the three top teams. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all sent their drivers out on the purple-walled ultra-soft compound. More surprising was to see the Force India duo also opting for the middle compound. World champion Hamilton absolutely nailed it on his first flyer. He set an outstanding new track record by driving an aggressive and sensational lap. Teammate Bottas came nowhere close on his first run, being massive seven tenths down on the Briton. Both red-suited drivers were a second down on the Briton's benchmark! Red Bull's Verstappen didn't have it easy on the harder tyres. The Dutchman was in tame P10 after his first run, which meant, that he had no choice but to switch to the hyper-soft compound for his last run. Verstappen's second attempt was rewarding; the flying Dutchman jumped second in the standings. The track conditions kept improving towards the end of the session, and sensational Leclerc jumped third on his last flyer. Also Renault's Hulkenberg made an impressive job, moving fourth at the closing stages of Q2. Sebastian made a second attempt on the ultra-softs, making it third in the standings. But there was no beating Hamilton's incredible benchmark! Out of Q3 were Renault's Sainz, Sauber's Ericsson, Haas' Magnussen, Force India's Perez and McLaren's Alonso.
Hamilton's first run in Q3 was everything but perfect. He had a lock-up in the middle sector, and his W09 seemed to suffer from a restless rear end. In spite of these imperfections, the world champion took provisional pole by 0.057s to Sebastian. Bottas was third, only a tenth down on his teammate. Ricciardo was fourth, Kimi fifth and Verstappen sixth. At this point I was very much hoping, that Sebastian could seriously challenge Hamilton for pole under the floodlights of Yas Marina Circuit. My hopes proved very wrong. Hamilton improved his lap time by half a second, setting another new track record. Teammate Bottas set the screens purple in the second sector of his last run, but lost a tiny bit of time in Turns 17 and 18, and was finally 0.162s off his teammate. However, it was another front-row lock-out for the Silver Arrows in Abu Dhabi. Sebastian was left third, the margin being as significant as 0.331s. Kimi locked down the second row for the Scuderia. Red Bull made it on the third row, this time Ricciardo having the upper hand on Verstappen. Haas' Grosjean was the best of the rest in P7, Sauber's Leclerc will start to the race alongside the Frenchman. Force India's Ocon and Renault's Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.
Although Red Bull were six or seven tenths down on Mercedes in terms of the single-lap pace, their race pace is definitely on a different level. Max is the only driver in top six to start to the race on the softest rubber, but Max showed already in Brazil, that he is very good with saving the tyres. Tyre management is definitely one of the key factors in the race. Abu Dhabi will mark Kimi's last race as a Ferrari driver, so I really hope the Iceman will end his Ferrari career on a high!
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