Feature
What the teams said – Qualifying in Abu Dhabi
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McLaren
McLaren were worried about Ferrari heading into qualifying, but their drivers delivered when it mattered. Both made it through to Q3, but Piastri lost his first lap time to track limits. That was reinstated, taking the pressure off a little on their final runs. The duo had been closely matched on their first runs but second time around Norris pulled ahead to bag an eighth pole of the year, as McLaren locked out the front row to place themselves in a very decent position as they try and chase the constructors’ crown.
Lando Norris, 1st, 1:22.595
"A very good day for the team. We were quick all the way through Practice, but Qualifying was a little bit trickier than we had hoped. My final Q3 lap was strong, and we can be very pleased to have both cars on the front row. The team has done an incredible job so far this weekend, but we will remain focused going into tomorrow’s race."
Oscar Piastri, 2nd, 1:22.804
"A front-row lockout is a great result for the team. The job is absolutely not done but it’s good to go into tomorrow in a strong position. After my lap was deleted and then reinstated, I gave Turn 1 more space than I should have, so I lost a little bit of time there on the final run but we’re still in a great place. We just need to keep our heads down now and not lose focus. There is still a lot to do tomorrow."
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
"A very intense Qualifying session in Abu Dhabi, with each stage being very close. It’s incredible how tight the field is at the moment, with very little to pick between the fastest and slowest cars out there. This made Q1 more difficult, and we needed to use two sets of tyres, which altered our plan for the rest of Qualifying.
"Lando and Oscar kept delivering good laps throughout the session, and they confirmed the potential in the car with a front-row lockout. We’re happy with the performance today but at the same time, we are aware that we haven’t scored any points yet. We will stay calm, remain focused and keep our energy levels up for the important job tomorrow. The team have done a great job so far this weekend and we’re looking forward to the race."
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Ferrari
Ferrari looked one of the quickest teams in Q1, with Leclerc topping the segment. On that basis, both cars should have flown straight into Q3 – but the Monegasque driver lost his lap time at the end of the segment, which dropped him down to P14. Add in his grid penalty, and he starts on the back row. Sainz at least saved the team’s blushes with third on the grid, and the Spaniard says he has nothing to lose as he chases a last win with the Scuderia.
Charles Leclerc, 14th, 1:23.833
"My goal remains the same: to win the Constructors’ Championship. I believe in it as much as I did yesterday. It’s ambitious, but it’s still possible on paper and I will fight for it until the very last lap.In terms of qualifying, I don’t think we would have managed to beat the two McLarens. However, with my lap time deleted, P14 added to our 10 place grid penalty will make this a really challenging goal to achieve. Our race pace is okay but McLaren seem to be stronger. We changed our car quite a bit since FP3, and I believe we went in the right direction. Our tyre degradation seems better than that of some of the others, so I hope this can give us some advantage. Anything can happen tomorrow and we will give it absolutely everything."
Carlos Sainz, 3rd, 1:22.824
"We did a good job on the car after yesterday and today in Q1 and Q2 I was able to put together some solid laps. In Q3 I pushed like crazy on the last attempt and I think my lap was good, only hundredths of a second away from P2. Anyway, starting P2 or P3 doesn’t make a huge difference here as the race is very long and I have confidence in our pace.Races have to be raced until the very last metre, so believe me when I say I will drive my heart out to try to win and let’s see what happens. Nothing would make me happier than finishing with Ferrari on a high, so let’s go for it one more time!"
Fred Vasseur, Team Principal
"Tomorrow we will fight until the last corner and at least we have Carlos on the second row. He did a very good job and there is not a big difference starting P3 or P2 tomorrow as the right hand side is probably a bit better. I think we can fight the McLarens and at least try and win this race. It would be a good way to end the year on a positive note.
"Of course, for Charles it will be a more difficult race, starting from the back. Anyway, the best he could have done would have been to start P11. We will evaluate what to do with his power unit and will think about a strategy that avoids him being in the pack and allows him to run more in clean air. As for the title, before this weekend, on paper it was very difficult, after the penalty it became mega difficult but not impossible, as you never know what could happen."
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Haas
Haas have looked quick all weekend, and that didn’t change in FP3. The team were full of confidence going into qualifying, but they couldn’t quite get both cars into Q3. Hulkenberg did make the top 10 though and wound up qualifying a brilliant fourth, however he was subsequently hit with a three-place grid penalty for overtaking two cars in the pit exit. That means he is set to line up seventh as Haas prepare to challenge Alpine for P6 tomorrow, with the American team five points behind on paper.
READ MORE: Hulkenberg hit with three-place grid penalty for Abu Dhabi GP
Nico Hulkenberg, 4th, 1:22.886
“I was expecting a top 10 result for sure because that’s where we’ve been all weekend and the car felt strong. I knew that was a must-do, but P4 was more than I expected and hoped for. It was a strong session, which goes down to a really strong car and a big team effort. I think it’s going to be a tight and tough battle, Alpine has been strong lately, but we’re all so close together so it really comes down to all the racing moments and strategy. It’s important for me personally that we maximize tomorrow and leave nothing out there and have a happy ending to our night.”
Kevin Magnussen, 15th, 1:23.877
“It hurts a little bit to have my last qualifying messed up with the performance loss due to the floor damage, but I just have to go out there and make it right tomorrow. We need to have a good race and make up positions; the car clearly has pace as after the first run in Q1 I was P3, and I thought it was going to be a great session. Everyone is quick, it’s not going to be easy, but hopefully I can make up some ground tomorrow.”
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal
“I’ve got mixed feelings after qualifying. The pace in the car was amazing, and I think both drivers had amazing pace as well. Kevin, unfortunately when he was trying to get out of the way of Hamilton, went over the curb and gained significant damage to the car. In Q2, his car was severely damaged aerodynamically, so he had no chance to get into Q3.
“In Q1, Nico overtook cars in front of him in the pitlane which is illegal, so we’ve received a three-place grid penalty. It’s disappointing but his Q3 performance, and overall, showed that the pace is amazing. We’ve got a pretty strong car with strong pace, so we’ll do everything to get as high as possible.
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Alpine
Doohan’s first qualifying ended in a Q1 exit, but he will inherit three places when others serve their grid penalties. But Gasly flew the flag very well for Alpine, making it all the way to Q3. With just the one new set of softs, he managed to grab an impressive sixth and will move up a place courtesy of Hulkenberg's penalty.
Jack Doohan, 20th, 1:24.105
“Another day of experience under my belt in a Formula 1 weekend and my first Qualifying session in the car. I am of course not satisfied with the result, but it was a session of learning which we will debrief ahead of tomorrow’s race. I felt comfortable in the car on my first run, and I believe we could have extracted more in the second run. We did not have the cleanest out lap with traffic management and positioning, which meant the tyres were not in the optimal window when starting the lap. However, it is something we can learn from to improve in the future. I am now focused on working hard to maximise the race tomorrow to help the team in retaining sixth in the standings.”
Pierre Gasly, 6th, 1:22.984
“I’m very happy with today’s Qualifying result. The team has worked extremely hard all weekend and we managed to improve our performance between Practice to Qualifying. I’ve not felt that comfortable in the car and we went into Qualifying not too sure on what we could achieve. We managed to qualify in front of George [Russell], who was on pole position last week, and we’re just behind Max [Verstappen], the world champion, so that shows much we’ve progressed this season. Nico [Hülkenberg] is in front so the battle is definitely on and it will be intense until the end. Tomorrow is a different exercise. This track on high fuel tends to be tough on the tyres so we will do our homework tonight and aim to be in a position to stay with Nico in the race.”
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal
“That was an incredibly close Qualifying today and is testament to the current level of competitiveness up and down the Formula 1 grid. Pierre again put in a great lap and is well positioned for tomorrow’s race in sixth place. We knew coming into Abu Dhabi it would be a learning weekend for Jack and he’s shown promise and grown in confidence with each session. I know he probably wanted a little more out of it, but it’s great learning for next year and I'm sure he can make progress in the race tomorrow. Some of our main competitors are starting ahead of us, which is credit to them. Haas and Nico [Hülkenberg] in particular have looked fast here all weekend so far. We know what our objective is, and we know we need to be at our best tomorrow to achieve that.”
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Mercedes
Hamilton had nothing but bad luck in qualifying. He was up on the time he needed on his last run in Q1, only to run over a bollard that rolled onto the racing line as Magnussen ahead tried to get out of his way. That got lodged under his car, costing him time and meant in his last qualifying with Mercedes, he exited in Q1. Russell had complained about his car in FP3, but somehow dragged it into Q3. Once there he couldn’t find the pace to challenge for the front row, winding up seventh.
Lewis Hamilton, 18th, 1:23.887
"Today was really unfortunate. We’ve worked so hard to get the car into a good place and it has been feeling strong all weekend. Sadly, our timing at the end of Q1 wasn’t the best. We weren’t able to optimise the out lap, having to push through traffic. That compromised my last effort in that session; a bollard then got stuck under the car at turn 14 and affected the final few corners of the lap. To that point, I was level on pace with George and looking good to make it through to Q2. It is obviously really frustrating.
"It is difficult to say what would have been possible if we had made it through to the final part of Qualifying. We have been looking good across the practice sessions so I think we could have challenged for the first couple of rows. It is what it is though, and I will be giving it my all to end as strongly as we can tomorrow. It will be difficult from P17, but I will be trying to enjoy it as much as possible and make up as many positions as we can."
George Russell, 7th, 1:23.132
"It has been a strange weekend for us as a team. It’s been very up and down. There’s been moments where we’ve looked quick and then other times when we’re not sure where the pace has gone. We are a little confused by that but, on my side of the garage, we didn’t have the speed to fight for the first couple of rows today. That is frustrating but P7 is likely the best we could have hoped for today. It was a real shame for Lewis too. He’s been really quick this weekend, ahead of me comfortably, and I think he would have been right up there at the end of Q3.
"Looking ahead to tomorrow, it will be tough to move forward. It is perhaps surprising to see the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg up there, but I think firstly they did an amazing job and secondly, I think that their pace this weekend is genuine. We will have a fight on our hands but we will take that on and look to end the season as strongly as we can."
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"We need to apologise to Lewis and everyone in the team who has worked so hard to deliver a great final weekend for him here in Abu Dhabi. He has been quick across all three practice sessions and was looking good for a strong result tomorrow. Sadly, we totally let him down at the end of Q1. We made the mistake of not sending the drivers out early enough. That compromised both their out laps and then their final push laps as they wrestled through traffic. Lewis was then additionally compromised by a bollard becoming stuck under his car. Without that, he would likely have got through, but we shouldn’t have been risking so much in Q1.
"It will be very difficult for Lewis to get back to where he should have been racing tomorrow. Nevertheless, I know he will be giving it absolutely everything to do so. That is his character and always has been. With George starting P7, we will also be looking forward, but we must be realistic. The cars ahead of him have looked quick and it will be challenging to make progress. Hopefully we can enjoy a better day than today though and end the season on a high."
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
"That was a tough evening and one that didn't go the way we had hoped. Firstly, we can only apologise to Lewis for his Q1 exit. Traffic is always a challenge here in Qualifying and something that you account for. Unfortunately, we didn't get it quite right. Both cars left the pit lane at the back of the queue; with overtaking in the tunnel not allowed, many cars ahead took the opportunity to form larger gaps to the car in front than usual. That left Lewis and George on the back foot and having to cut their way through traffic on the out lap to make the flag. They were then further compromised by having less than ideal gaps to the car ahead of them. All that said, both were on pace to make it through to Q2 before a loose bollard became stuck under Lewis's car at turn 14. That impacted him in the final few corners and, in an already tight session, cost him a couple of vital few tenths.
"It is not the way we wanted to head into our final race day together. We will be doing everything we can tomorrow to enable Lewis to work his way back through the field. Fighting drives are an absolute speciality of his and we know he will be giving it his all to end our time together on a high.
"On George's side, he has struggled pace wise a little more this weekend. We will need to evaluate why that is but, in the meantime, our focus is on trying to make gains tomorrow. Starting from P7 that will be tough. The field is close, and we know overtaking is a challenge here. Nevertheless, we will see what we can do and hope that we can finish the year more strongly than we did today."
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Aston Martin
Alonso started the day in a positive mood, reflecting that it was going to be a good day for him and the team. And so it proved, as he made Q3 for the second straight race. He’ll be chasing more points too, even though Aston Martin are assured of a fifth-place finish in the constructors’. As for Stroll, he couldn’t quite extract as much pace from his car, falling by the wayside in Q2.
Fernando Alonso, 8th, 1:23.196
"We seemed to find the right window with the car in Qualifying and I am happy to start in eighth position tomorrow.
"The car has been quite disconnected this weekend, and so we made some setup changes overnight. We were still a little pessimistic after FP3 and so we made some more changes to the car ahead of Qualifying.
"The car felt much better tonight and I managed to put in some good laps to progress to Q3. We will try our best to enjoy the final race of the season tomorrow and hopefully score some more points."
Lance Stroll, 13th, 1:23.784
"Based on our pace so far this weekend, we chose to run three sets of new Soft tyres in Q1. In hindsight, we could have got through with two sets because the car's performance seemed to improve in the cooler temperatures.
"It meant that we didn't have the tyres we needed in Q2, so I was on a used set. It can easily go the other way though. We tend to be more competitive on Saturday than Sunday, but we'll see what the last race of the year brings tomorrow."
Mike Krack, Team Principal
"One final qualifying session for 2024 and like most of this year it has been incredibly competitive one here in Abu Dhabi. Both drivers optimised the package and the cooler evening conditions so it has been a positive Saturday for Aston Martin Aramco.
"Lance was very quick on the used tyres, having run three sets of Softs in Q1, on his last run in Q2 but just ran out of rubber in the last sector. He'll be able to race from P13.
"Fernando drove well to get through to Q3. Eight of the ten teams were represented in Q3 showing how extremely close this season has been. Fernando will line up in P8 and thanked everyone for making the improvements to the AMR24 overnight. It will be a long, hard race tomorrow but we will be aiming to score solid points with both cars and reward the team and our fans."
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Kick Sauber
Bottas saved his best for last, making it all the way to Q3 for just the second time this season. He out-qualified a Red Bull to boot, in what could be his final ever qualifying in Formula 1. But while Bottas starts ninth as he chases his first points of the season, Zhou is further back in the sister car. He will move forward thanks to Albon and Leclerc’s grid drops, but he might be on for a difficult race from the middle of the pack.
Valtteri Bottas, 9th, 1:23.204
"Obviously, I’m really happy with this result: getting into Q3 and qualifying P9, our best performance of the year, is great. It is almost unexpected, it kind of came out of nowhere: I knew we might have a chance, but after a tough FP3, I had somewhat tempered my expectations. Still, in qualifying, I managed to pull it together: honestly, it was one of the best laps of my life. I’m really satisfied, and I have to give huge thanks to the team for making this possible. Tomorrow’s race will be interesting: we know it’s going to be tough, but starting up here is the best possible way to give us a chance to be competitive."
Zhou Guanyu, 17th, 1:23.880
“Today’s qualifying session was disappointing as I think we had a chance to reach Q2 quite comfortably. Unfortunately, I ended up at the front of the pack when leaving the garage, which meant I couldn’t benefit from any slip or tows. That cost us some time we would have needed for Q2 as I didn’t quite gain as much compared to my previous lap on all straights in sector two. I reckon we have shown some good pace here, and while it’s frustrating to start in P15, I am positive I can make up a few positions and fight for points once more.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative
"A very solid qualifying session today, and I believe it’s the best way for Valtteri to demonstrate the significant progress we’ve made over the last three races. After navigating a challenging period, the team has worked hard to improve our package, and Valtteri was outstanding, consistently improving his lap times with each stint. Reaching Q3 reflects the potential we’ve shown today, and every bit of it was earned through effort and determination. That said, there are mixed feelings, as we believe Zhou also had the pace to secure a good position in Q2. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to maximise his performance today. Yesterday was a challenging day for him, and we didn’t fully extract the car's potential on his side. Nonetheless, we’re confident Zhou can fight for a solid result in the race, and with Valtteri starting P9, we aim to replicate the strong performance we delivered in Qatar. We understand the challenges ahead, as our competitors are incredibly strong, particularly in race conditions, but we’re fully committed to giving it our all until the very last lap to maintain and confirm our positive momentum."
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RB
The two RB drivers were evenly matched throughout qualifying, with Tsunoda in the end juts nipping in front. But that was in Q2, with neither driver able to extract enough pace to make it to the top 10. They still have good starting slots, but haven’t had the pace to compete with Alpine and Haas of late and it looks like P6 in the championship has disappeared up the road now.
Liam Lawson, 12th, 1:23.472
“Probably one of the closest qualifying sessions I’ve experienced, every little hundredth makes a difference. We extracted everything we could have out of the car today; when you have two cars together like that, it usually means you’ve extracted the most out of it. A perfect lap could maybe have got us into Q3, but we just didn’t quite have the speed for Alpine and Haas, which is frustrating, but we’ll try and make something work tomorrow.”
Yuki Tsunoda, 11th, 1:23.419
“It was a bit of a difficult qualifying for us. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get through to Q3, but as a driver, you always want to go beyond expectations. My lap was okay, even if there’s always some room for improvement, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough today. Our main competitors seem very strong, but anything can happen and we’re not giving up, so we’ll do our best to recover positions during the race.”
Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance
“Just as in the free practice sessions, qualifying was very tight in the midfield. The challenge was to adapt to the wind, optimise tyre preparation, respect track limits and manage traffic, which was difficult particularly in Q1 with 20 cars on track. Both drivers did a good job and managed to get to Q2, but we struggled to improve the performance since yesterday. 11th and 12th on the grid are not bad positions for the race and we are definitely targeting points tomorrow."
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Williams
Both drivers knew going into qualifying that they had grid drops incoming. They still tried their best to mitigate those, but Colapinto lost his first lap time to track limits in Q1. The team opted to play it safe and go out early for the second runs, but then lost out as the track improved. Once those penalties are applied, they will both be right down the back of the grid for the last race of the season.
Alex Albon, 16th, 1:23.821
"We didn’t quite optimise the lap in Qualifying; there was more on the table, so that’s a bit frustrating. It’s such fine margins out there with one tenth having the potential to move us up four or five positions. We obviously focused on the race car more than the Qualifying car due to the grid penalty, so we’ll see if that pays off tomorrow. As a team, we’ve shown a lot of resilience this year, especially over these last few months and it’s been a huge effort from the factory and the trackside team to get the car in a decent place, but we’ve fallen short on upgrades throughout the year, so we’ve been left behind slightly in that midfield battle. We’re putting our focus on the future and will close out the race tomorrow the best we can."
Franco Colapinto, 19th, 1:23.912
"Unfortunately, it didn’t quite come together for us in Qualifying as after the floor repairs, we lost more downforce than we thought. Losing a chunk of time in a tight field was very costly today but let’s see how it is tomorrow. We’ll try our best to recover in the race despite starting with a grid penalty."
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director
"The battle in the midfield has been very tight all year and tonight wasn’t any different. 0.15s divided P11 to P19 and unfortunately, tonight both cars were eliminated in Q1. With the grid penalties we will start at the back of the field but let’s see what we can do tomorrow, as we focused on having a strong race car. We will give it our best one more time in the last race of the season."
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Pirelli
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director
“A very close qualifying, the closest of the year, given that in Q1 just 803 thousandths of a second covered all 20 drivers: only in Zeltweg was there a smaller gap from first to last (0”798) but that was on a track that is 963 metres shorter than this one. The close contest pushed the drivers to make the most of the Soft, which while delivering very good performance, only did so on the first flying lap. The track conditions were more or less stable throughout the sixty minutes of qualifying, so what made the difference was mainly the difference in grip levels between a new set and a used one, even if they had only done one timed lap.
“Regarding strategy for tomorrow’s race, a single stop, running the Medium and then the Hard is, on paper, the fastest choice, with a pit stop window between laps 18 and 24. Those starting further back might want to extend a first stint on the Hard, pitting between laps 29 and 35. There are however three factors that could open the door to a two-stop race: possibly greater degradation than we have seen so far, a neutralisation, or more plausible, drivers who find themselves in traffic deciding to pit early to try and exploit the clear advantage of having a new set of tyres for the first few laps after the stop. This could trigger a chain reaction, leading teams to switch to a two-stop strategy. That was the case last year, when all the teams with the exception of the Racing Bulls had kept two sets of new Hards.”
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