Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

After a three-place grid penalty is applied to 10th place qualifier Daniel Ricciardo – for taking Magnussen out of the Brazilian Grand Prix a week ago – Schumacher graduates a position to 12th on the grid.

The final qualifying session of the season was a mixed tale for Magnussen and Schumacher. Magnussen exited at the end of the opening Q1 stage – his best lap coming on his second set of Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires. The Dane banked a 1:25.834 for 16th but traffic at the end of his out lap impacted his last flying attempt as he lost tire temperature. Schumacher fared better steering his VF-22 to 11th on the timesheets in Q1. The German also set his best time on his second set of soft rubber – a 1:25.711 propelling Schumacher into Q2.

Schumacher ran a 1:26.039 on a set of scrubbed Reds to bed into Q2 before switching onto a brand-new set of the softs. With lap times dropping under the floodlit circuit, Schumacher’s fastest time of the evening was a 1:25.255 for 13th on the timesheets – his qualifying participation ending with only the top 10 moving on to Q3.

Max Verstappen captured pole position for Red Bull Racing, the double World Champion delivering a hot lap of 1:23.824 to beat his teammate Sergio Perez to the top spot on the grid.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“It seemed like we did take a step forward from FP2 to qualifying, but the traffic at the end meant we had to stop in the last sector for close to half a minute before starting our lap, so that killed it and you start your lap on cold tires. It’s so tight that even one tenth would’ve got me close to the top 10. That’s a bummer, that’s what we got right last week but today we didn’t manage to do the same. It’s very tight so I think it’s going to be more about tire management and strategy tomorrow.”

 

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team

“Q1 didn’t look too bad and Q2 was ok, actually. We felt like we were in a good position and it was less than two tenths to getting through to Q3 which was very unexpected to be this close. We’ll happily take it and move forward now to the race. We’re quite close to the points and we have AlphaTauri quite close as well so hopefully we’ll get them at the start, and we’ll be able to manage the race from there. It will be crucial for us to stay in front of them so that’s what we’ll focus on.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It wasn’t a bad qualifying session today, pretty happy. Kevin got into traffic a little bit and his tires weren’t working, so he couldn’t out of Q1. Mick did a very good job getting into Q2 and got a good result out of it. Starting tomorrow in P12 and P16 puts us in a position where we can score points.” 

 

Today's Data

Event: Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Saturday November 19
Location: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Layout: 5.281-kilometer (3.281-mile), 16-turn circuit
Weather: Clear
Air Temps: 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Team Result: Mick Schumacher qualified 13th, Kevin Magnussen qualified 16th 
Notes: MSC starts 12th due to a 3-place grid penalty for Daniel Ricciardo 

Free Practice 3 Rundown:

Magnussen: 17th overall (1:26.356), 21 laps completed
Schumacher: 18th overall (1:26.473), 19 laps completed
Fastest: Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing (1:24.982)

Q1 Qualifying: 18-mins with all 20 drivers – Top 15 advance to Q2

Schumacher: 11th overall (1:25.711) – Advanced to Q2
Magnussen: 16th overall (1:25.834) 
Fastest: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:24.754)

Q2 Qualifying: 15-mins – Top 10 advance to Q3

Schumacher: 13th overall (1:25.225) 
Fastest: Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing (1:24.419) 

Q3 Qualifying: 12-mins featuring the Top 10 

Pole Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing (1:23.824)