Qualifying in Abu Dhabi marked Lewis Hamilton‘s twelfth pole position of 2016 and his sixty-first of his career, out qualifying his Mercedes team mate, Nico Rosberg in the final race of the 2016 Formula 1 Season. Rosberg qualified in second place while Daniel Ricciardo qualified in third place for Red Bull Racing for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton claims pole position at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Qualifying 1
In the first qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. Q1 marked the exit of six drivers from qualifying. Narrowly missing out on a Q2 appearance was Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso, with the young Russian qualifying in seventeenth place. Kevin Magnussen qualified in eighteenth place for Renault, once again being out qualified by his team mate, Jolyon Palmer. Felipe Nasr qualified in nineteenth place for Sauber, starting ahead of Manor‘s Esteban Ocon. Carlos Sainz Jr qualified in twenty-first place, meaning that he will start on the last row of the grid alongside Marcus Ericsson who was the slowest driver on track, meaning that he will start in twenty-second place.
Qualifying 2
Lewis Hamilton was once again fastest in the second qualifying session in Abu Dhabi, being closely followed by his team mate and championship rival, Nico Rosberg. Q2 marked the relegation of another six drivers. Being eliminated from qualifying by Fernando Alonso was Williams‘ Valtteri Bottas, who qualified in eleventh place. Also being relegated from the session was Jenson Button, in what was his final qualifying session of his Formula 1 career. Button will start in twelfth place. Esteban Gutierrez qualified in thirteenth place, out qualifying his team mate, Romian Grosjean, who will start in fourteenth place for Haas F1. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer qualified in fifteenth place, and will start alongside Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix who qualified in sixteenth place.
Qualifying 3
Following a trend, Lewis Hamilton was once again fastest in the third and final qualifying session in Abu Dhabi, meaning that he will start in pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the final race of the 2016 Formula 1 Season. Nico Rosberg qualified in second place, starting alongside his championship rival. Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest, pipping Kimi Raikkonen to the position in his final qualifying lap. Raikkonen qualified in fourth place, while his team mate, Sebastian Vettel qualified in fifth. Through this result, Raikkonen has won the qualifying battle between him and his Ferrari team mate over the course of this season, out qualifying Vettel 11 times to 10. Max Verstappen qualified in sixth place after going off the track in turn 10 in what has his final qualifying lap. Nico Hulkenberg qualified in seventh place, followed by his Force India team mate, Sergio Perez in eighth. Fernando Alonso qualified in ninth place for McLaren and Felipe Massa rounded out the top ten qualifiers, qualifying in tenth place.
Qualifying results from the Abu Dhabi GP
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:38.755
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:39.058
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 1:39.589
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:39.604
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:39.661
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1:39.818
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:40.501
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:40.519
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:41.106
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:41.213
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:41.084 (Q2)
- Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:41.272 (Q2)
- Esteban Gutierrez, Haas F1, 1:41.480 (Q2)
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 1:41.564 (Q2)
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:41.820 (Q2)
- Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:41.995 (Q2)
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:42.003 (Q1)
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:42.142 (Q1)
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:42.247 (Q1)
- Esteban Ocon, Manor, 1:42.286 (Q1)
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1:42.393 (Q1)
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:42.637 (Q1)
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