Overview
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set a 1:22.207 to take pole, 0.201s ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and 0.230s clear of Oscar Piastri.
- A planned aerodynamic tow from Yuki Tsunoda aided Verstappen’s Q3 run, with Tsunoda forgoing a lap and lining up 10th.
- Pole has proved decisive at Yas Marina, with every winner starting from P1 since 2015.
- Norris leads the standings by 12 points over Verstappen and 16 over Piastri; Verstappen likely needs to win with Norris fourth or lower, and Piastri’s path requires victory with Norris outside the top five.
- George Russell qualified fourth and Charles Leclerc fifth, while Lewis Hamilton crashed in final practice and suffered a third straight Q1 exit to start 16th.