Q3: Verstappen on pole!
In the second attempt, Verstappen gives his teammate a slipstream – but is still faster! Pole for Verstappen in front of Perez, Leclerc and Sainz. The two Mercedes drivers land behind them. Vettel is ninth.
Here in the ticker we continue with the votes on qualifying. Before the overview:
report
result
starting grid
Q3: Advantage Verstappen
In his first attempt at Q3, the Dutchman sets the first 1:23 time of the weekend. He leads with a 1:23.988 in front of Sainz, Perez and Leclerc. But that seems to have been planned differently.
Because apparently he should give Perez a slipstream – but that didn’t work. Let’s see how it looks on the second try.
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q2: Schumacher out
Vettel is eighth and thus makes the leap into Q3 – and also beats the teammate who retires. Unfortunately, as expected, Schumacher does not make the cut.
Out are Alonso, Tsunoda, Schumacher, Stroll and Zhou. In a few minutes we will continue with Q3 and the fight for pole!
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q2: Schumacher wobbles
But things could get tight for him now: Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Stroll, Schumacher and Zhou would be out after the first attempts. After all: According to the current status, Vettel would make it into Q3 if he said goodbye.
But a lot can still happen, the last five minutes are running!
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q2: Mick says goodbye with “victory”
The Q1 result already shows that Schumacher will finish ahead of Magnussen in qualifying. He says goodbye with an internal win against his teammate.
However: Overall, Magnussen decides the qualifying duel against Schumacher relatively clearly with 16:6. In the meantime, the drivers are taking their time again in Q2.
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q1: Both Germans get through
Breathe! Schumacher still manages to make the cut in eleventh, Vettel is even a strong sixth. Magnussen, Gasly, Bottas and the Williams pilots are out. The same goes for Q2. Then the five slowest drivers are eliminated again.
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q1: Vettel and Schumacher wobble
After the first attempts, Vettel, Schumacher, Bottas and the two Williams drivers would be out. Let’s hope from a German point of view that this will change… The two Red Bull drivers are in front. Six minutes left on the clock.
Call up all current information in the session live ticker!
Q1: Open the session ticker now!
In a few minutes, things will start with Q1. Here at this point you will find the most important information, pictures and voices. As always, you can get the full coverage in our session ticker with Stefan Ehlen.
It’s best to just let both tickers run in parallel. And if you want to know how to watch Formula 1 live in Abu Dhabi, you can find out here!
Important points for Sargeant
So once again a quick look at Formula 2, where Logan Sargeant just finished sixth in the sprint race – and thus collected three important points in the fight for the super license.
It’s not over yet, but things would have to get really crazy on Sunday for it to go wrong. Incidentally, the race was won by Red Bull junior Liam Lawson.
Reason
In their justification, the race stewards write that there is no doubt that Hamilton overtook under the red flag. However, Hamilton himself emphasized that he immediately stepped off the gas when he saw the flag.
In addition, Hamilton had stepped on the brakes. Telemetry confirmed that. The conclusion is therefore that he did everything possible not to break the rules. The fact remains that Hamilton overtook under the red flag.
However, he could not avoid that, so there was no penalty – as was the case with Max Verstappen in Zandvoort in 2021 in a very similar case. Here is the full justification:
“There is no dispute that Car 44 passed Car 20 directly after the track was placed in a Red Flag condition. The driver of Car 44 stated that he was on a fast lap, he saw the Red Light, immediately completely lifted the throttle and applied the brakes, whilst checking his mirrors for cars following in close proximity. He stated that he had, in doing so, gone past Car 20.”
“The Stewards took note of the precedent in relation to the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix (Max Verstappen), where no action was taken against the driver under similar but not identical circumstances.”
“The telemetry evidence was sourced directly from the live data available to the FIA not from any evidence provided by the team. The telemetry data clearly shows the following;
1. That immediately when the red light was displayed, the driver lifted throttle 100%
2. That immediately when the red light was displayed, the driver applied firm braking pressure.
3. The speed of Car 44 at this point was 288 km/h. (Car 20 had a speed of 126 km/h at this point – a delta of 162 km/h).”
“The Stewards It is our conclusion that the driver of Car 44 took every reasonable action to comply with the regulations in that he immediately reduced speed in a safe manner at the earliest opportunity upon the first indication of the red light.”
“Notwithstanding, technically this is still a breach of Art 2.5.4.1 b of Cpt IV of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code, however he could not avoid overtaking Car 20 in this case and therefore the Stewards DETERMINE to apply no penalty.”
“It is noted the there was no breach of Article 37.6 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.”
No penalty for Hamilton!
The decision is here: no penalty for Hamilton for the FT3 incident! More in the ticker.
Leclerc: Old Formula 2 anecdote about Vettel
Many pilots have said goodbye to Sebastian Vettel this weekend. Charles Leclerc told an exciting anecdote and explained: “Seb is incredible. He has achieved so much in Formula 1.”
“He was also incredible as a person. I still remember driving in Formula 2, but already simulator work [für Ferrari] took over. It’s not such an easy task because it’s very tiring,” he explains.
“I assumed Seb wouldn’t even be aware that I was in the simulator, but one day I got a letter thanking me for my hard work. It meant a lot to me at the time, even though it was was just a little thing,” said Leclerc.
“Then we became teammates. That also taught me a lot. There were a few tense situations on the track, but apart from that we always had respect for one another. That has never changed,” emphasizes the Monegasque.
The Gasly Incident…
… can be found here again in the video. That led to the red flag and then to the investigation against Hamilton – on which we hope to expect a decision before qualifying, which starts in just over an hour!
Sargeant fights for super license
We’ll get back to the ticker after a break. In terms of Hamilton, nothing has happened yet. The Formula 2 sprint race is currently running in Abu Dhabi – or not, because it is currently interrupted due to a red flag.
The Formula 2 weekend is important for Williams, because Logan Sargeant is currently still fighting for his super license and can’t afford a bad finale. “He’s amazingly relaxed,” reveals Jost Capito on ‘Sky’.
“He did a great job in our car in first free practice yesterday,” emphasizes the team boss and explains: “The drivers and his competitors, who are right behind him in the championship, are far behind him in qualifying.”
In any case, he is not worried about the super license. “I think he should be able to do that,” said Capito.