ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Max Verstappen took a brilliant pole position for the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Formula 1 title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on Saturday.
The thrilling three-way battle will be decided on Sunday at the Yas Marina Circuit. The McLaren driver Norris is 12 points ahead of Red Bull’s Verstappen and 16 ahead of McLaren teammate Piastri.
Verstappen is aiming for his fifth straight F1 title
— Norris and Piastri are chasing their first. All three drivers have won seven races.
The Dutchman is ready to fight for another title battle on the final day — just like in 2021, when he beat seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to clinch his first championship.
“We find out tomorrow don’t we?” Verstappen said. “I will try and win the race.”
Pole position is crucial on the 58-lap circuit in Abu Dhabi, where overtaking is hard. Every driver has won from pole since 2015. The last driver not to win from pole was Nico Rosberg in 2014, when he was beaten by his then-Mercedes teammate Hamilton.
Verstappen had already set the fastest lap on his first go but went even quicker on his second attempt and clocked 1 minute, 22.207 seconds, making him .201 faster than Norris and .230 quicker than Piastri.
“That was insane,” Verstappen said over team radio after his eighth pole of the season and 48th overall. “Yes. Lovely.”
Verstappen kissed his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, and shook hands with McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Norris will win the title if he’s on the podium in Abu Dhabi. Even if Verstappen wins, the Dutchman needs Norris to be fourth or lower. If Piastri wins, he requires Norris to finish outside the top five.
Norris will start from the front row but was disappointed not to be on pole.
“We just weren't fast enough today. We'll have to try and do it tomorrow,” he said. “I still want to try and win tomorrow, so that's going to be the goal.”
Piastri was content with his performance.
“Nicely done,” he said. “Wasn’t much left."
Hamilton was eliminated from Q1, the first section of qualifying, for the third straight race. He also crashed in third practice due to a driver error earlier Saturday, and has not qualified inside the top 10 for four consecutive races.
“I’m so sorry,” Hamilton said over team radio. “There are no words to express how I feel.”
Asked about 2026, a dejected-sounding Hamilton said “I’m not looking that far ahead."
Mercedes driver George Russell qualified fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who fared much better than his more illustrious teammate.
Russell led third practice ahead of Norris and Verstappen.
But Hamilton lost the rear of the Ferrari coming out of Turn 9 and spun full circle before sliding into the barriers, bringing out the red flag. He stepped out of the car and picked up some of the debris himself.
Hamilton owns F1 records for most wins (104) and pole positions (104) but called his own performance “ terrible ” this season.
The 40-year-old Briton won a sprint race in China in March, but nothing else this season. He has not even been on the podium in a main race this campaign.
Norris showed good pace to lead Friday’s first two practice sessions ahead of Verstappen.
Norris had the chance to wrap up the title at last week’s Qatar Grand Prix but a botched strategy call by McLaren handed Verstappen the win, boosting his chances of a fifth straight title to equal Michael Schumacher’s feat with Ferrari from 2000-04.
Verstappen’s victory in Qatar was his 70th overall. His title chances improved after Norris and Piastri were disqualified in Las Vegas.
After winning the Dutch GP on Aug. 31, Piastri led by Norris by 34 points and was 104 ahead of Verstappen, who had won just two races.
Piastri, who is looking to become the first Australian champion in 45 years, hasn’t won in eight races since his Zandvoort win.
When Norris won the Brazil GP sprint race in early November, he moved 39 ahead of Verstappen with four races to go.
Verstappen also qualified in 16th for the main race in Sao Paulo and said he could “ forget about ” winning the title at that point.
Now, it’s a different feeling.
After taking yet another superb pole, Verstappen stood proudly on his car and did a “No. 1” gesture with his finger. ___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
