For the final time in 2023, Qualifying took place as the drivers tried to put themselves in the best possible position for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Q1
In Qualifying 1; Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant were the five slowest drivers. Carlos Sainz seemed really frustrated to be knocked out in Q1 in a disappointing showing in his Ferrari whilst Kevin Magnussen suffered yet another Q1 exit. Valtteri Bottas managed to out-qualify his teammate Zhou Guanyu in a poor day for Alfa Romeo whilst Logan Sargeant will start the final race of his Rookie season from last on the grid after a terrible showing where he failed to get a lap on the board. Max Verstappen topped Q1 by just half a tenth over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Q2
In Qualifying 2; Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, and Daniel Ricciardo all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout. Lewis Hamilton suffered his second consecutive Q2 elimination in a frustrating performance whilst Esteban Ocon could only manage 12th for Alpine. Lance Stroll will start 13th for Aston Martin after a slightly disappointing session whilst both Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo will definitely feel that they could’ve achieved more in their Williams and Alpha Tauri’s respectively. Max Verstappen once again topped Q2, this time by nearly two tenths (of a second) ahead of the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Q3
In Qualifying 3; a 1:23.445 was enough for Max Verstappen to take a relatively straight-forward final Pole of the season. Max looked a class above everyone today (as he has all season) and I fully expect him to win his 19th Race of the season tomorrow. Charles Leclerc will start alongside Verstappen tomorrow after a terrific final lap whilst Oscar Piastri will start P3 after a really positive session. George Russell can be happy with P4 in his Mercedes whilst a mistake on his final run saw Lando Norris end up in 5th. Yuki Tsunoda then pulled out the lap of the day to Qualify 6th whilst Fernando Alonso did a good job to get P7, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg who can be very happy with his day's effort. Sergio Perez will start 9th in his final race of the season after stupidly getting his final lap time deleted for track limits whilst Pierre Gasly was the slowest man in Q3 after a scruffy final session.
Starting Grid for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and My Qualifying Grades
Max Verstappen: 10
Charles Leclerc: 10
Oscar Piastri: 9
George Russell: 8
Lando Norris: 6
Yuki Tsunoda: 10
Fernando Alonso: 7
Nico Hulkenberg: 9
Sergio Perez: 3
Pierre Gasly: 5
Lewis Hamilton: 3
Esteban Ocon: 4
Lance Stroll: 3
Alex Albon: 4
Daniel Ricciardo: 4
Carlos Sainz: 1
Kevin Magnussen: 3
Valtteri Bottas: 2
Zhou Guanyu: 1
Logan Sargeant: 1
My Predictions for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris
Charles Leclerc
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
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