'Insane' Max Verstappen crushes McLaren to vital Abu Dhabi pole

Max Verstappen crushed McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to seal pole position for the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. 

Verstappen set a stunning lap in the final part of qualifying to go over one-tenth quicker than Norris, who joins the Red Bull driver on the front row.

Oscar Piastri sealed third but most overtake both Verstappen and Norris should he want any chance of becoming world champion.

It was further qualifying horror for Lewis Hamilton, who suffered a third consecutive Q1 elimination after only managing to go 16th fastest.

Q3 - Verstappen roars again

In the final part of qualifying, only Russell, Verstappen and Leclerc had two new sets of soft tyres, giving the trio an advantage. 

Following the first hot laps, it was very much advantage Verstappen. The Dutchman sat on provisional pole after setting a 1m 22.295, with Yuki Tsunoda having given his team-mate a tow. 

Piastri and Norris occupied second and third, but with a final lap to come on new soft tyres. It all came down to the final qualifying laps of the season. 

Piastri and Norris both improved, but the duo had no answer to Verstappen, who found further lap time to post a 1m 22.207, a lap he judged as "insane" – both McLarens were over one-tenth slower.

Crucially, Norris did go faster than Piastri to seal second on the grid, with Piastri and Russell completing the top four. 

If the top three finish where they are starting from at the Yas Marina Circuit, Norris will become world champion.

Q2 - Antonelli rear grip struggles

In Q2, both Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli found themselves in the bottom five ahead of their final laps, with some having opted to use used soft tyres initially – Leclerc was also on the bubble in 10th.

Antonelli improved on his final lap but was eliminated in Q2 after falling to 14th, with the Italian having complained over the radio of "having no rear [grip] again".

Tsunoda also improved and did enough to just make it into the final part of qualifying, whilst it was Russell who went fastest, ahead of Verstappen and Norris. 

Oliver Bearman was 11th and was joined in the elimination places by Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson, Antonelli and Lance Stroll.

Remarkably, Tsunoda progressed to Q2 by 0.008s, and Q3 by 0.009s.

Q1 - Hamilton suffers further Q1 horror

As qualifying got underway for the final time in 2025, the floodlights made the Yas Marina Circuit dazzle.

An opening gamble on the medium tyres saw Leclerc initially in the elimination places, leaving him in need of a strong lap to progress to the second part of qualifying. 

Leclerc managed just that to safely progress; however, the same could not be said for his team-mate, Hamilton. 

Hamilton could only manage 16th after being knocked out by Gabriel Bortoleto, marking a third consecutive Q1 exit. 

Piastri topped the first part of qualifying, whilst Hamilton was joined in the elimination places by Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.