Lewis Hamilton admitted his final qualifying session for Mercedes could “not have gone much worse” as he was sent out late in Q1, and then got a plastic bollard stuck underneath his car, leaving him down in 18th. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff apologised to his driver, describing the team’s error as “inexcusable”.
Hamilton, who is joining Ferrari at the end of the year, has gained a couple of places thanks to penalties handed out to other drivers. But this was certainly not the fairytale finish he would have been hoping for.
With one of the fastest cars on track, Hamilton was sent out last in Q1 and then picked up a rogue bollard, which was swept into his path by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen.
“You couldn’t make it up, you really couldn’t, but it is what it is,” he said. “We gave it everything, I gave it everything, the car was in a good place. Every practice session went well, I was ahead of my team-mate all weekend but when we got to qualifying I think as a team we didn’t perform in terms of the timing.
“I was the last car on track and ran out of time ultimately, and then I got the bollard at the end which went under the car and I lost all downforce so it couldn’t have gone worse really.”
Norris takes pole as McLaren lock out front-row
Lando Norris secured pole position – his eighth of the season – in a McLaren one-two as the Woking constructor closes in on their first constructors’ title since 1998.
Ferrari are the only team who can stop them, but with Carlos Sainz third on the grid and Charles Leclerc down in 19th after a 10-place grid penalty on top of his lap time in Q2 being deleted for track limits, the Scuderia have their work cut out. McLaren will be champions unless Ferrari outscore them by 22 points in the UAE.
Norris described it as a “perfect” day for the team.
“It was a perfect, perfect day for us, probably a little bit tougher than we were hoping for, we’ve been quick all weekend, we were pleased with the one-two but it was a bit trickier than what we would have liked,” said Norris, speaking to Sky Sports after clinching pole. “My lap in the end was strong and it was just how we wanted to end today.
“We have got to beat Ferrari. That’s the aim but we’ve got to do it in style. I want to win. We know what we have to do so we are keeping our heads down and staying focused, we are here to win and anything is possible.”
On Sunday, though, all eyes will be on Hamilton in his final race for Mercedes. He said finishing in the top 10 would be “amazing” and he was already looking forward to the end.
“I don’t have any emotions, I’m pretty chill,” he said, adding he would not be overly emotional waking up on Sunday morning. “It’ll be like I made it,” he replied when asked what his mood would be like. “I survived a very, very hardcore year. And although I’m going to be sad not to be racing any more this year, hopefully next year comes around soon enough.”
Wolff apologises to Hamilton for ‘idiotic’ mistake
Wolff was furious about the team error which saw Hamilton sent out so late.
“I need to apologise to Lewis and to everyone in the team who gave him such a great car,” he said. “He was the quicker guy and we totally let him down, it was our mistake for not letting him go out earlier [when there was less traffic on the track]. Inexcusable. I have rarely been so down about what happened. This is the worst, it was just idiotic, to make him go out when we did.
“You don’t risk so much in the Q1 when we easily had the pace. [Lewis is] the most valuable we have ever had and the greatest driver ever in the sport and he’s out of Q1 because of such a bad mistake. I can only say sorry to him.
“His pace was there, we would have had a real go for the podium. Now it’s pretty much impossible.”
04:13 PM GMT
McLaren wins the day
All in all that was an eventful day of qualifying for the final grand prix of the 2024 season.
A great day for McLaren who will have to serve up an calamity of epic proportions tomorrow if they are to miss out on their first constructor’s title in 26 years.
A bad day, though, for Ferrari, who need a minor miracle tomorrow. Emotions in the paddock of the scuderia will have gone from ecstasy to agony within seconds, as they fleetingly had a 1-2 finish in Q2 only for the officials to intervene VAR-style.
Also a day to forget for Hamilton, who through no fault of his own will not be able to go out on a high with the Mercedes team he has served so brilliantly for the last 12 years, after being bumped down the grid by a rogue bollard.
Thanks for following and don’t forget to join Luke Slater tomorrow to see what happens in the race itself.
03:52 PM GMT
Wolff apologises to Hamilton
Toto Wolff has issued a profuse apology to Lewis Hamilton after the decision-making from the Mercedes team that he felt caused the driver’s exit from Q1.
“I need to apologise to Lewis and to everyone in the team for giving him such a great car,” he said. “He was the quicker guy and we totally let him down, it was our mistake for not letting him go out earlier [when there was less traffic on the track].
You can almost see the smoke coming out of the Mercedes team principal’s ears as he vents.
“Inexcusable!” he continues. “I have rarely been so down about what happened. This is the worst, it was just idiotic, to make him go out when we did.
“You don’t risk so much in the Q1 when we easily had the pace. [Lewis is] the most valuable we have ever had and the greatest driver ever in the sport and he’s out of Q1 because of such a bad mistake. I can only say sorry to him.
“His pace was there, we would have had a real go for the podium. Now it’s pretty much impossible.”
Perhaps Christian Horner was right. Maybe it is better to be a terrier than a wolf…
So, although the incident that caused Hamilton’s failure to qualify was brought about by a rogue bollard, Wolf contends that Hamilton should have gone out earlier anyway when there were fewer cars on the track to put him at risk – especially as Mercedes had provided a competitive car for the seven-time world champion for a change.
Speaking on Sky Nico Rosberg has suggested Wolff go “sit on a chair in a darkened room for half an hour or so” before doing anything rash.
03:38 PM GMT
‘Perfect day’ for Norris
“It was a perfect, perfect day for us, probably a little bit tougher than we were hoping for, we’ve been quick all weekend, we were pleased with the one-two but it was a bit trickier than what we would have liked,” said Norris on Sky after clinching pole. “My lap in the end was strong and it was just how we wanted to end today.”
“We have got to beat Ferrari. That’s the aim but we’ve got to do it in style. I want to win. We know what we have to do so we are keeping our heads down and staying focused, we are here to win and anything is possible.
“Tomorrow we are going to have a good chance at least with one of our cars and we will be giving it everything we’ve got. We know in the back of our minds what we really have to do to achieve our big goal.”
03:36 PM GMT
Hulkenberg called to stewards’ room
Nico Hulkenberg gave the drive of qualifying by coming in fourth ahead of Verstappen, but the bad news is he has been called to see the stewards.
It appears the Haas driver will be interrogated over his actions in the pit-lane tunnel, when he decided to bring his car to a complete halt, which might well be a contravention of the laws.
That will be a cruel blow to the German after putting in such an extraordinary performance.
03:24 PM GMT
Leclerc not giving up
“The joy will be even bigger if we manage to pull it off from such a difficult weekend because of the engine penalty and the lap time [being] deleted,” said Leclerc, giving a whole new meaning to the word optimism, when interviewed by the BBC. “It was a tough weekend overall but I hope we can turn this around in the best possible way.”
“I don’t feel down, I’m very disappointed, I’m very disappointed with what happened with the engineers today, but that makes me even more motivated for tomorrow to try and do something special, I will give it all.”
03:20 PM GMT
Best of the rest
11. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
12. Liam Lawson (RB)
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
14. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)*
15. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
16. Alex Albon (Williams)
17. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
18. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
19. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
20. Jack Doohan (Alpine)
* 10-place grid penalty
03:19 PM GMT
How they stand
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
4. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)
10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
03:12 PM GMT
McLaren’s constructor’s title to lose
McLaren now have one-and-a-half hands on the constructor’s title after Norris’ pole and Piastri’s second.
Sainz lived up to his part of the bargain by keeping Ferrari interested with a third-placed finish in Q3, but Leclerc’s deleted lap in Q2 has all but thrown away Ferrari’s prospects.
03:05 PM GMT
It’s a McLaren 1-2 for Sunday!
Sergio Perez clocks the fourth-fastest time in his probably final ever qualifying lap in F1.
Next up it’s Piastri who looks like he’s taking a cautious approach.
Hulkenberg nails the fastest time but then he is pipped by Piastri for second place.
Now it’s Norris to give it one last go – and Lando lands pole!
That’s a 1-2 dream scenario for McLaren, who had to really pull that out of the fire at the death.
Sainz takes third place – well played Carlos – edging ahead of Hulkenberg, who delivered a massive time, in fourth.
03:00 PM GMT
Great save by Verstappen
We’re now in Q3 and Hulkenberg posted a lightning fast time, but was quickly superseded by Verstappen, who almost lost control of his vehicle while haring around the final corner.
The Dutchman went really wide and did amazingly well to correct his steering, avoid the wall and somehow keep one of is tyres on the track. Phenomenal reflexes there from the Red Bull man, who might have been in the wall (“on his head”) were it not for those extraordinary reflexes. And he still nailed the fastest time there!
He’s now fastest with 1:22.945.
Breathless driving.
Norris is second with Piastri third and Sainz fourth.
And now they’re going to go out with new tyres.
02:49 PM GMT
Leclerc out of qualifying
Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg had just thrown the cat among the pigeons by posting second and third-fastest times when Leclerc surged through just before the chequered flag to nail the fastest time of Q2.
But just as Sainz comes in second to give Ferrari their desperately needed 1-2 Leclerc’s lap is deleted!
He veered off the white lines on turn one and that has put paid to his hopes for tomorrow.
Out of qualifying he will now start the grand prix in last place and Ferrari’s remote hopes of winning the constructors’ championship lie in the hands of Sainz – the very man who is being jettisoned by the Scuderia in favour of Hamilton next year!
02:41 PM GMT
McLaren second and third fastest
So it’s still Verstappen in front with the fastest time as Q2 nears to a close, with Norris second and Piastri third.
The Dutchman has decided to let the others battle it out in Q2 – as if to say, “I can’t be bothered with this, see if you can beat my time, lads”.
Carlos Sainz is fifth and Leclerc down in 10th, which does not bode well for the prancing horse.
02:36 PM GMT
Leclerc just avoids crash
What about the McLarens? Lando Norris has just shot around to edge into second place, landing another blow to Ferrari’s constructor’s hopes. And talking of Ferrari, Leclerc almost lost complete control while negotiating the parabolica. He showed great reactions there to prevent his car from careering into the crash barrier in what could have been a messy accident.
02:31 PM GMT
Verstappen fastest after Q1
George Russell had to take evasive action there as Liam Lawson was dawdling in front of him.
The Briton didn’t want to have his lap time deleted but was unable to record a fast time as a result.
In all of the confusion, which has Perez absolutely fuming that he had a lap time erroneously deleted, Verstappen has finished fastest after Q1. The Dutchman has kept his head while everyone around has been losing theirs.
Leclerc briefly leapfrogged the Dutchman, but Verstappen has zipped around in 1:22.998.
Leclerc is second and Sainz third with 10 mins to go of Q2.
02:23 PM GMT
Hamilton horror show
Charles Leclerc has now edged ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who was briefly fastest. That’s encouraging for Ferrari’s hopes for the weekend.
But it’s bad news for Hamilton, whose pace had fallen through the floor. “I’ve messed that up, big time,” says Lewis over the radio, as the Mercedes man posts an 18th-place – his worst ever qualifying place at Abu Dhabi.
“That was bad, man,” he adds.
“Yeah, that was bad,” agrees team principal Toto Wolff.
But what happened there? It actually looks like a bollard was flicked by the car in front, Kevin Magnussen, and it got stuck under the Briton’s car, rendering it effectively impotent.
That’s such hard luck for Hamilton, who is out of qualifying as a result, and I’m sure Wolff will be more understanding when he realises what happened.
02:16 PM GMT
Perez lap reinstated
The stewards have had a review of Perez’ fastest lap and decided that all four wheels had not gone off the track.
It’s welcome good news for Perez, who is now third-fastest, but the times are so close he’s going to have to have another go at it.
02:15 PM GMT
Sainz fastest
At the moment Carlos Sainz is doing his bit for Ferrari. After flying in practice he is leading in qualifying with a lap of 1:21.487, just ahead of Verstappen.
In third place is Kevin Magnussen, who has surpried everyone withhis time on what is will be his final grand prix before moving into Super Car.
02:10 PM GMT
And they’re off!
The first cars are out on the track and the Red Bulls are out.
Sergio Perez looked like he’s nailed a great time, which was one tenth of a second faster than that with which Verstappen won pole last season.
And the luckless Mexican has the lap deleted for crossing the external white line.
Franco Colapinto follows suit for the same reason.
This is a circuit that requires great discipline.
02:03 PM GMT
Can Verstappen clinch a fifth straight pole?
Practice is one thing, qualifying is another. And when it comes to the latter Verstappen is the man to beat.
He has nailed eight pole positions this season, pipping Norris’s seven, and has done so here four years in a row, winning the race on each occasion, including the very controversial grand prix in 2021 that clinched his first drivers’ title ahead of Hamilton.
Winning pole here generally guarantees victory in the race. Out of the last 15 Abu Dhabi grand prix winners, 10 did so from pole.
01:45 PM GMT
Ferrari have it all to do
We’re 15 minutes away from the start of qualifying, when it will be interesting to see whether Hamilton can build on the speed he has shown in practice. If he has come under any criticism in this his final season at Mercedes it has been his speed in qualifying – something that historically has always been his forte.
Hamilton’s future team Ferrari, meanwhile, really need to step things up in order put pressure on McLaren.
As a reminder here’s how the constructor’s championship looks.
01:36 PM GMT
Major blow for Ferrari
Turning back to matters on the track, Ferrari are having a bad weekend.
The Italian scuderia suffered a major blow on Friday when Charles Leclerc was handed a whopping 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. Ferrari had to change the battery pack on his car, taking them beyond their permitted allowance for the season.
That might have decided the constructors’ championship even before a gear has been changed in anger in qualifying. Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both said in the week that a 1-2 finish for the Italian team was their best shot at their first title in 16 years. Practice suggests McLaren are more likely to come in the top two.
Whatever happens today Leclerc is optimistic about the future and the arrival of Lewis Hamilton as his team-mate next season. Leclerc was just 10 years old when Hamilton won the first of his seen driver’s titles, but he has sugested it will be he rather than Hamilton who will be clinching silverware next season. Telegraph Sport caught up with the Ferrari driver earlier this week.
Leclerc is not alone in appearing on the naughty step. Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto will join him in moving down the order from their original qualifying spot after each receiving five-place grid penalties due, according to Williams, to “to the use of additional RNC gearbox components”.
01:21 PM GMT
Russell v Verstappen feud simmers on
Off the track, the duel everyone has really been talking about this week has been the one between Mercedes driver George Russell and Verstappen, who have been conducting the most public feud since Rebekah Vardy and Colleen Rooney last locked handbags.
Verstappen said on Thursday he had “no regrets” about telling the world he has lost respect for Russell after the qualifying drama in Qatar, which prompted Russell to fly off the rails – or should that be the track? – and call the four-time champion a “bully”.
Mercedes Team principal Toto Wolff then waded into the controversy by launching a broadside at his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner, calling him a “yapping little terrier”, to which Horner retorted, “I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf”.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has continued to throw shade at Russell describing him as a “backstabber” and a “loser”. And Russell then reportedly turned up at the end-of-season drivers’ dinner to find that the only seats left were both next to Verstappen.
What did he do? Sit down and talk it all through like an adult? Nope. He picked up the chair and went to the other side of the table to sit next to his team-mate and boyhood hero Hamilton. Perhaps he is right to stand up to the Dutchman. What do you think?
Whoever’s side you are on, isn’t it nice to see the final grand prix of the year being concluded in such a civil and honourable fashion.
01:12 PM GMT
Get set for qualifying
Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s coverage of qualifying from Yas Marina, where Formula One’s finest are about to duke it out for pole position at tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen has already clinched the Drivers Championship for a fourth successive season, but the constructors’ championship is still up for grabs, with McLaren and Ferrari battling it out for the much-coveted trophy.
This could yet be a big weekend for McLaren, who have their sights set on a first constructor’s championship since 1998 – before George Russell was even born.
They are 21 points ahead of Ferrari, so need to score 24 points or more to end their 26-year wait. If Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri score 24 points between them the title will be McLaren’s. Failing that, 13 points will suffice should Ferrari win the race.
But McLaren, it has to be said, are favourites to take the team title as they are going well. Piastri and Norris finished one-two in final practice this morning, Piastri edging Norris by 0.193 seconds, while Lewis Hamilton, their closest rival, was 0.390secs off the pace in the Mercedes.
Hamilton is looking to end his 12-year spell at Mercedes career on a high before his much-publicised move to Ferrari and will be encouraged by finishing 0.021secs faster than Verstappen in fourth.
Ferrari, meanwhile, look like they have it all to do with Carlos Sainz fifth and Charles Leclerc in 10th place.
