OFFICIAL GRID: Verstappen vs Leclerc up front for final Turn 1 showdown of 2023

26 November 2023

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 03: Second placed qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari and

Old protagonists Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will face off for the final time in 2023 when they start from the front row of the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And pressuring the Red Bull and Ferrari stars into Turn 1 will be McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Mercedes' George Russell, who qualified third and fourth at Yas Marina.

Other standout performances in Q3 came from Yuki Tsunoda in P6 for AlphaTauri and Nico Hulkenberg for Haas in P8. Less impressive – and not even making the cut for the top-ten shootout – were Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who line up 11th and 16th respectively.

And at the very rear of the grid we have Logan Sargeant – the only man whose seat remains unconfirmed for 2024 – who was granted permission to start by the stewards after the Williams driver failed to set a lap time during qualifying.

FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2023 Abu Dhabi 2023
Starting Grid

Position	Team Name	Time
1	Max VerstappenVERRed Bull Racing	1:23.445
2	Charles LeclercLECFerrari	1:23.584
3	Oscar PiastriPIAMcLaren	1:23.782
4	George RussellRUSMercedes	1:23.788
5	Lando NorrisNORMcLaren	1:23.816
6	Yuki TsunodaTSUAlphaTauri	1:23.968
7	Fernando AlonsoALOAston Martin	1:24.084
8	Nico HulkenbergHULHaas	1:24.108
9	Sergio PerezPERRed Bull Racing	1:24.171
10	Pierre GaslyGASAlpine	1:24.548

Position

Time

VER

1:23.445

LEC

1:23.584

PIA

1:23.782

RUS

1:23.788

NOR

1:23.816