Verstappen had an unexpected result in qualifying

The final weekend of the season did not start well for Red Bull and Ferrari, who excelled in Las Vegas. In the first, two young men occupied the seats of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez during the first free trials, which ended with the victory of George Russell (Mercedes), Jake Dennis took sixteenth place, and Isaac Hajjar took seventeenth place, and as for the Italians Carlos Sainz came in seventh place and Robert Svarkman in Eighth place, where he was sitting in Charles Leclerc’s car.

Monaco came back in the second test and won, but Sainz crushed Ferrari. Lando Norris (McLaren) came in second place, and Verstappen in third place. In the final practice session of the season, Russell was quickest again, followed by the McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Sainz had a successful third practice session as well, finishing last. The Spanish Ferrari driver’s streak continued in qualifying, as he was already eliminated in the first stage along with Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Tso Kuan Yew (Alfa Romeo) and Logan Sargeant (Williams). .

Verstappen was fastest in both the first and second sections, while in the final stage seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alexander Albon (Williams), and Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri). ). ) He didn’t do that.

Although this could not be predicted based on the results of free practice, Verstappen was unstoppable in the final either, so he will also receive pole position in the final race of the season. Ferrari also meet for qualifying, so Leclerc will line up on the grid alongside the Dutch pilot, while Piastri could start from third.

The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix begins at 2pm on Sunday.

Cover photo: Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi (Photo: EPA/Pool/Ali Haider)