Max Verstappen claimed pole ahead of Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez in a front-row lockout for 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Perez topped FP3 and Q2 but it was ultimately Verstappen who had the edge as he topped Q1 and Q3, of which the latter saw him clinch a seventh pole position of the season with Perez alongside him on the front row.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel meanwhile enjoyed a positive final Qualifying session of his F1 career as he qualified ninth, as the highest-placed qualifier of the four drivers set to bow out of F1 after the season-ending Grand Prix. j
Now, here is a full roundup of FP3 and Qualifying for 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
FP3
A quiet start to FP3 saw Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Vettel venture out just to conduct pit-stop practice, whilst Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz set the early pace on medium tyres with 1m 27.821 to go top from Mick Schumacher.
Sainz and Charles Leclerc then briefly traded fastest laps but the Ferrari duo were quickly bettered by Mercedes’ George Russell then Lewis Hamilton in the 12th minute on soft tyres, as Hamilton posted 1m 26.040 to go fastest.
Perez though found himself top at the halfway mark with 1m 25.861 set in the 27th minute, just two minutes before the red flag was waved due to a broken front-right wheel brow on Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri.
The session quickly resumed once the debris was removed but Hamilton found himself under investigation for allegedly passing Lando Norris and a Haas car under red flag conditions, which stewards opted to investigate post-session.
Back on track, Hamilton improved to 1m 25.824 to go fastest in the 37th minute as soft-tyre Qualifying simulations commenced, although he was displaced six minutes later by Verstappen then Russell but returned to the summit with 1m 25.222 in the 46th minute.
Perez one minute later though proceeded to top the session with 1m 24.982 which wasn’t bettered as Verstappen eventually finished second, ahead of Hamilton, Russell and Norris.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1m 24.982 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.152 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.240 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.413 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.536 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.589 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.623 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 0.968 |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.030 |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.069 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.091 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 1.094 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 1.188 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 1.207 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 1.257 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.316 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 1.374 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 1.491 |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 1.500 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 1.664 |
Qualifying
Q1
Several drivers ventured straight out onto the circuit with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda initially setting the pace on 1m 26.135, until Leclerc displaced him but the Monegasque was soon displaced by Perez then Verstappen who went top with 1m 24.754.
Once everyone had completed their opening runs, the elimination zone compromised of; Vettel, Mick Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi
As the checkered flag fell, Vettel and Schumacher survived at the expense of Kevin Magnussen and Gasly, as Bottas, Albon and Latifi occupied the last three spots on the grid for the season finale.
Q2
Hamilton and Russell were first out on track on used soft tyres but it was the latter who set the initial pace with 1m 25.363, whilst everyone else were on outlaps.
Leclerc, Sainz and Verstappen then all briefly went fastest until Perez delivered 1m 24.419 to place himself top, whilst the elimination zone compromised of; Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Schumacher and Guanyu Zhou.
Hamilton meanwhile found himself ninth once everyone posted a lap time but found further time to post 1m 24.774 to go second in the order.
Once the checkered flag fell, Alonso was a surprise exit as he qualified 11th in his final race for Alpine ahead of his switch to Aston Martin for next season, ahead of Tsunoda, Schumacher, Stroll and Zhou.
Q3
Hamilton and Russell headed a flurry of cars straight out onto the circuit for their opening Q3 runs, with Hamilton setting the initial benchmark time of 1m 24.678 but was quickly demoted by Leclerc, Perez and Sainz, until Verstappen posted 1m 23.988 to go top.
Once everyone completed their opening fliers bar Norris who opted to run in the final minutes whilst Vettel and Ricciardo ran in the gap, the top-ten order compromised of; Verstappen, Sainz, Perez, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Vettel, Ricciardo, Ocon and Norris.
Verstappen eventually lowered his benchmark time to 1m 23.824 whilst helping slipstream Perez to second in a Red Bull front-row lockout, ahead of Ferrari’s Leclerc and Sainz who occupy the second row ahead of Mercedes’ Hamilton and Russell.
Norris qualified seventh ahead of Ocon and Vettel, whilst Ricciardo qualified 10th but a three-place grid penalty for a collision with Magnussen in Brazil means that he will start 13th on the grid.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 23.824 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.228 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.268 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.418 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.684 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.687 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.945 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 1.006 |
| 9 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.137 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 1.221 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 1m 25.096 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 0.123 |
| 13 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 0.129 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.263 |
| 15 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 0.312 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1m 25.834 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 0.025 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 0.058 |
| 19 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.194 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 0.220 |
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