Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda will line up one position ahead of Lawson, having clocked a time of 1m 23.419s as the last car eliminated in the second session. “When you have two cars close like this, it indicates you’ve extracted most of the potential,” Lawson remarked following qualifying. “A flawless lap could have advanced […]
Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda will line up one position ahead of Lawson, having clocked a time of 1m 23.419s as the last car eliminated in the second session.
“When you have two cars close like this, it indicates you’ve extracted most of the potential,” Lawson remarked following qualifying.
“A flawless lap could have advanced us, as the margins are extremely tight right now.
“I don’t believe we had the pace [to compete with] Alpine and Haas today, they are a bit further ahead.
“We remain hopeful; we need to create some opportunities. We’re lagging in points, so we’ll give it everything.”
Significantly for both competitors, Red Bull senior driver Sergio Perez advanced to the final qualifying session, achieving a best time of 1m 23.264s to start from 10th on the grid.
Red Bull have reportedly decided to terminate Perez’s contract after the Grand Prix, with Lawson being the leading candidate for his replacement.
Nonetheless, with recent trends influencing F1’s driver market, the Kiwi won’t become complacent until the chequered flag waves on Monday morning (NZT).
Starting outside the top 10, however, will provide Lawson the chance to employ a strategy similar to the one that allowed him to achieve ninth after commencing from 19th at the US Grand Prix in Austin, where he extended his stint on the first set of hard tyres before switching to the quicker medium compound for his finish.
As they aim to secure their first constructors’ championship title since 1998, McLaren claimed the front row, with Lando Norris earning pole while Oscar Piastri will take second place.
Ferrari, their closest rival, features Carlos Sainz starting third and Charles Leclerc at 19th, having received a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change. McLaren comes into the season finale holding a 21-point lead over Ferrari.
Lawson and Tsunoda will strive to elevate Racing Bulls beyond eighth.
The two Red Bull juniors have been competing to secure their team a sixth-place finish in the championship but currently trail Alpine by 13 points. Haas occupies sixth and eighth with 54 points, three fewer than Alpine and eight more than Racing Bulls.
Haas has the best opportunity for scoring points in Abu Dhabi, as Nico Hulkenberg qualified fourth but has received a penalty that relegates him to seventh, with teammate Kevin Magnussen starting 14th.
Alpine features Pierre Gasly in fifth, while teammate Jack Doohan will begin in 17th, despite ultimately qualifying last due to penalties for other drivers.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starting grid
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – PENALTY
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
9. Valterri Bottas (Sauber)
10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
11. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
15. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
16. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
17. Jack Doohan (Alpine)
18. Alex Albon (Williams) – PENALTY
19. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – PENALTY
20. Franco Colapinto – PENALTY
Alex Powell serves as an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been involved in sports journalism since 2016, previously contributing to both Newshub and 1News.
