Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Live F1 qualifying coverage and results

Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

For the final time of the 2023 season, the Formula 1 grid is ready to roar to life. The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is upon us, and there is no shortage of storylines. From the battles for second, fourth, and seventh in the Constructors’ Championship to the ongoing speculation over Logan Sargeant’s F1 future, there is much left to be decided.

That means today is a big day, as qualifying is set to get underway in a few short hours. We will have it all covered for you live, from notes on the final practice session of the season to the qualifying itself. Can Mercedes or Ferrari put themselves in position to lock down P2 in the Constructors’ standings? Can McLaren fend off Aston Martin in the final week of the season? Who emerges in the four-way fight for seventh at the back of the grid?

Qualifying gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, so come back early and often!

(All updates in Eastern time).

Update 10:51: Remember, however, that the below results are provisional:

e have seen drivers hit with a three-place grid penalty in similar situations, so the actual starting order for Sunday’s Grand Prix could change in a few hours.

Update 10:10: Here are the results from qualifying:

Update 10:06: A reminder that these are provisional results, because ...

Update 10:01: Verstappen captures pole again, yadda yadda yadda.

Here is the top ten:

Verstappen
Leclerc
Piastri
Russell
Norris
Tsunoda
Alonso
Hülkenberg
Pérez
Gasly

Update 10:00: A slip from Norris opens the door, and teammate Piastri barges through. Norris on P3 provisionally, with Piastri ahead of him in P2.

But then Leclerc crashes the party, putting himself in P2.

P5 for Yuki Tsunoda provisionally, with a P7 for Hülkenberg provisionally as well.

Update 9:59: The two-minute warning has sounded at Yas Marina. Down to the finish here. Norris is on his push lap and is purple through the first sector.

Update 9:57: Showdown time, as the drivers queue up for their final push laps of the session.

Update 9:55: The initial qualifying runs have been posted by all ten drivers. Here is the current order:

Verstappen
Norris
Piastri
Russell
Pérez
Tsunoda
Hülkenberg
Alonso
Leclerc
Gasly

Update 9:53: Strength from McLaren in the early showing, as Norris is in P2 followed by Piastri in P3. Leclerc is only in P8, and McLaren’s main competition at the moment for P4 in the Constructors’ — Alonso — is down in P7.

Update 9:52: Verstappen goes purple through Sectors 2 and 3, and posts a time good for P1 early in Q3. Norris comes in behind him, followed by Tsunoda and Hülkenberg. Under eight minutes remain in Q3.

Update 9:51: Now Russell has joined the fight.

Update 9:50: Q3 is officially underway. Only Russell is in the pits, as the other nine drivers are on the track.

Update 9:48: The final pole position in the 2023 F1 season is up for grabs.

Here is the classification from Q2:

Update 9:47: For those keeping track (and if you are here, that probably means you) Hamilton will start P11, Sainz in P16.

Remember, just four points separate Mercedes and Ferrari in the battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Update 9:43: The ten drivers who advanced to Q3, in order:

Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Russell
Gasly
Pérez
Alonso
Tsunoda
Hülkenberg
Piastri

Update 9:42: Here are the five drivers eliminated in Q2: Hamilton, Ocon, Stroll, Albon, Ricciardo.

Update 9:41: Hamilton is knocked out of Q2, dumped into the drop zone when his teammate comes across the line in P4.

Update 9:40: Leclerc and Hülkenberg crash that top five party, as Leclerc goes into P3 and Hülkenberg into P4.

Hülkenberg then sees Gasly, Pérez, and Tsunoda jump ahead of him. Still, very good pace from the Haas, and ahead of Albon, which could be key as Haas tries to chase down Williams in the standings.

Update 9:37: Three minutes to go in Q2 and here is the top five:

Verstappen
Norris
Pérez
Piastri
Albon

Two Red Bulls, two McLarens, and a Williams.

As we all predicted.

Update 9:31: Early times are coming in during Q2. Verstappen tops the timing sheet, followed by Russell, Tsunoda, Stroll, and Hamilton in the top five.

Update 9:27: How about AlphaTauri? Not only did the team put both drivers into Q2, but Tsunoda finishes Q1 in third, behind the Red Bull duo. An impressive start for the team chasing Williams for P7 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Update 9:26: Here are the results from Q1:

Update 9:20: A bit of a surprise, as Carlos Sainz Jr. is eliminated in Q1. Magnussen, Bottas, Zhou, and Sargeant are the other five drivers eliminated.

Update 9:16: Sargeant goes into P4 with a banger of a lap, but the time gets deleted. With two lap times deleted he has yet to set a time, and only two minutes remain in Q1.

Update 9:14: How big will track evolution be during qualifying?

This big:

Update 9:13: Shaky times for Aston Martin. Both Stroll and Alonso are near the bottom of the field following the first few runs, with Stroll sitting in P14 and Alonso in P15. The team is just 11 points behind McLaren in the fight for fourth, but they’ll need to pick things up to give themselves a chance today.

Update 9:10: Zhou and Hülkenberg see lap times deleted as well.

Update 9:09: Just under ten minutes remain in Q1. Here is your current Top Five:

Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Albon
Tsunoda

Update 9:08: Williams driver Logan Sargeant has his first lap time of Q1 deleted for exceeding track limits.

Update 9:05: For those of you who are seeing the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — and the layout at Yas Marina — for the first time you will notice two very unique features. First is the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel, which sits above the track and bridges the circuit between Turn 18 and Turn 19.

The other, which was just featured on F1TV, is the pit lane. That is located below the circuit, and drivers access the track via a tunnel.

Update 9:04: More than three minutes have elapsed in Q1, and no one has taken to the track yet. Track evolution is huge in Abu Dhabi, and with temps dropping, the teams are waiting to get things right.

The Red Bulls are the first out, led by Verstappen.

Update 9:02: For those of you — like me — who are already bemoaning the end of the season, F1TV has a fact that should cheer you up.

It is less than 100 days until things get rolling for the 2024 F1 season. Pre-season testing begins on February 21, 2024 in Bahrain.

Update 9:01: This is not the exact Magnussen clip I was talking about below, but this is great too:

Update 9:00: For the final time this season, qualifying is underway.

Update 8:55: F1TV just showed the most wholesome clip of Kevin Magnussen’s oldest daughter Laura helping the Haas driver get his gloves on, and then flipping his visor closed.

I’ll try and add that in here when it pops up on social media, as it is bound to.

Update 8:45: Regarding the battle for fourth, F1TV’s Jolyon Palmer notes that Las Vegas was an “anomaly” for McLaren, and that both Norris and Piastri are in much better form this weekend.

Update 8:44: “It’s going to be a very tight and tough battle,” says Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman to Will Buxton on F1TV of the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes.

Update 8:37: During the pre-qualifying show on F1TV, Alex Brundle and Sam Collins are discussing qualifying simulation pace.

While Red Bull still tops the simulations, based on data from PF2, there is some concern about Red Bull, and Max Verstappen. As you can see from the results from PF3, Verstappen was just sixth, which has many wondering if Red Bull might lag behind the field today.

Update 8:10: Could this be Mercedes’ day?

George Russell topped the timing sheets in FP3, followed by the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

With Mercedes locked in a tight battle with Ferrari for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, a Russell pole would be massive for the Silver Arrows.

Here are the results from FP3: