Red Bull’s Max Verstappen kept his hopes alive of winning five consecutive F1 world championship titles by grabbing the pole position at the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday.
Verstappen was 0.201 seconds faster than Championship leader Lando Norris of McLaren under the Yas Marina floodlights.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate and the third contender for the title, was third in Saturday’s qualifying.
British driver Norris, who has a 12-point lead over second-placed Verstappen, will win his maiden world championship title with a podium finish, regardless of other results.
But Verstappen can lift the coveted trophy only if he finishes first on Sunday and Norris misses out on a podium place.
The Dutchman, though, was pleased with how he drove on Saturday in Abu Dhabi where he won the first of his four back-to-back titles in 2021 by famously beating Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of a dramatic race.
It was a disappointing evening for Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, who was knocked out in Q1.
