ABU DHABI —
Max Verstappen gained a potentially decisive advantage in his epic battle with
Lewis Hamilton for the
Formula One world title on Saturday by claiming pole for
the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, prompting Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to say it was
"1-0" to
Red Bull.
اضافة اعلان
Verstappen goes into the season-closing race
level on points with Hamilton, who took second in qualifying to join the Red
Bull driver on the front row.
Lando Norris was a surprise third to park
his McLaren on the second row alongside Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez.
The last six winners in Abu Dhabi have all
started from the front of the grid, with Verstappen victorious from pole last
year.
Hamilton, seeking a historic eighth world
title, was favorite to secure the final pole of 2021 after his Mercedes left
Verstappen's Red Bull trailing in his wake in practice.
But after Red Bull's mechanics worked on
Verstappen's car overnight, the Dutchman produced a blistering flying lap in
Q3, with a little help from Perez.
The Mexican was sent out ahead of Verstappen
to give him 'a tow' down the long straight before sacrificing his own lap by
bailing off at Turn 9.
Verstappen's time of 1min 22.109sec left
Hamilton over half a second behind.
That forced the seven-time world champion
back onto the heavily modified Yas Marina circuit for one last throw of the
dice.
'1-0' to Red Bull
But although he reduced the gap to 0.371sec
at a venue where he is a five-time winner he could not knock his arch rival off
the top of the grid.
"It's an amazing feeling, we definitely
improved the car in quali," said Verstappen.
The 24-year-old added: "I'm incredibly
happy with this. It's what we wanted but it was not easy with Mercedes' form.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow, that's the most important."
He downplayed the significance of the tow
from Perez's car.
"It was discussed before quali so yes
it was very nice, nicely executed as well, but it's not (the reason) whatever
the gap was."
Given their intense, sometimes acrimonious
rivalry there was a nice show of mutual respect when they fist-bumped passing
each other during post-qualifying interviews.
Hamilton congratulated Verstappen on "a
great lap".
"We just couldn't compete with that
time at the end there," he said.
"The last lap was nice and clean, I
just couldn't go any quicker. I couldn't beat the time he did today, he fully
deserved the pole.
"We are still on the front row,
different tires. It is great I can see where he is."
Wolff said it was "1-0" to Red
Bull but intimated that all was by no means lost.
"They got the tires in a perfect window
in the last run. The tow functioned flawlessly and that's why they're on pole.
"There is nothing you need to say. I
think he (Hamilton) will be angry and that is good - motivated for tomorrow to
hunt him down.
"This is a long race, and this is Lewis
Hamilton in the car."
With the two drivers locked together on
369.5 points after 21 of the 22 races the stakes could not be higher for the
dueling duo.
And aside from pole Verstappen has another
advantage over Hamilton.
Should the pair end up all square — (one
finishes ninth, the other 10th with the fastest lap) — or fail to score any
points then the title is his on the strength of his nine race wins to
Hamilton's eight.
Hamilton may have been upstaged but he can
take heart from the fact that the last time Sunday's race was won by a driver
not starting from pole was in 2014 when he beat his then teammate Nico Rosberg.
His current teammate Valtteri Bottas joined
Carlos Sainz's Ferrari on the third row in his last race weekend for
Mercedes before moving to Alfa Romeo.
Then came Charles Leclerc in the other
Ferrari, with the top 10 completed by
Yuki Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri, Esteban Ocon
(Alpine) and the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo.
With qualifying wrapped up, the stage is set
for the closing chapter of a gripping season which for the first time since
1974 sees the two title challengers’ neck and neck entering the final straight.
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