Max Verstappen was the fastest in qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit, followed by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are fighting him for the championship title. The qualifying results promise an exciting battle for the championship title in the race. I invite you to the qualifying analysis before the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP.
Read more Verstappen won the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP and Norris became world champion
Qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit began with a track temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, which later dropped slightly. There were no crashes; everyone drove exemplarily in the final qualifying session of these technical regulations.
Qualifying results for the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:22.877 | 1:22.752 | 1:22.207 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:23.178 | 1:22.804 | 1:22.408 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:22.605 | 1:23.021 | 1:22.437 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:23.247 | 1:22.730 | 1:22.645 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:23.163 | 1:22.948 | 1:22.730 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:23.071 | 1:22.861 | 1:22.902 |
| 7 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 1:23.374 | 1:22.874 | 1:22.904 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:23.334 | 1:23.023 | 1:22.913 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:23.373 | 1:22.997 | 1:23.072 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 1:23.386 | 1:23.034 | No time |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:23.254 | 1:23.041 | |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:23.187 | 1:23.042 | |
| 13 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:23.265 | 1:23.077 | |
| 14 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:22.894 | 1:23.080 | |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:23.316 | 1:23.097 | |
| 16 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:23.394 | ||
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:23.416 | ||
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 1:23.450 | ||
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:23.468 | ||
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:23.890 |
Discussion of the competition at the front, race forecast, and the world championship battle
Max Verstappen secured Pole Position; he was clearly the fastest in Q3. Both of his timed laps in the final segment gave him the win. On his last lap, the Dutchman set overall records in the first and second sectors, which was no surprise, as he had an advantage there since the beginning of the weekend. Verstappen also drove excellently in the third sector in Q3, losing only 0,04 seconds to the fastest McLaren driver (Piastri). McLaren’s strength throughout the weekend was precisely the third sector; they had a few tenths of an advantage over their rivals there. In Q1, Piastri had as much as a 0,4-second advantage over Verstappen there. The Dutchman drove excellently in the third sector on both of his Q3 laps, and that was the decisive factor that secured him Pole Position.
Suggestions have emerged that Red Bull changed the car settings, focusing more on qualifying pace. The course of the practice sessions did not foreshadow Verstappen’s win in the time trials, let alone by such a margin. Whether this will be the case will be revealed in Sunday’s race. If such a decision was made, it is 100% logical. Verstappen must win the race to hope for the championship title. If the McLaren drivers were ahead of him in qualifying, there would be a risk that they would pull away and he would lose all chances. Even if Verstappen had some problems with long-distance pace in the race, he should be in the lead and defend hard, while, for example, Norris must be very cautious and will not be forced to attack at all. In my opinion, Red Bull is not set up more for qualifying; they are simply slightly faster than McLaren, which is also confirmed by Tsunoda’s better-than-usual form.
Lando Norris took second place after a very good final lap in Q3. I had the impression in this qualifying that Norris was driving cautiously and not pushing hard, only taking more risks at the end of Q3, which gave him second place. The situation with Oscar Piastri, who took third place, looks much more interesting. The Australian performed an excellent lap in Q1; this time would also have given him third place in Q3. Between Q1 and Q3, Piastri gained only less than 0,2 seconds, while Verstappen gained 0,6 seconds and Norris 0,75 seconds. Track conditions were constantly improving, as were the drivers. Piastri had personal records in every sector on his Q3 lap, including the overall record in the third. However, it seems to me that he had some potential in reserve, and if he had utilized it, second place was realistic.
It seems to me that McLaren will have a slightly better car in race pace. It could also be that Pirelli’s increase in tire pressures on the front axle affected their pace more, because on Friday the rest had problems with excessive wear of the front right tire. Now it might have leveled out.
The top three had a pace advantage over their rivals. Only Russell had the potential to be close, but his last lap was not perfect. We will see how the race unfolds, as it could be very nervous. Assuming no neutralizations and changes on the first lap, the advantage of the top three should be greater than in qualifying, and the strategy will be simple – one pit stop. Verstappen can win the race, but that is not enough for him. He needs Norris to be off the podium. Therefore, I expect various maneuvers. Verstappen could, for example, be very aggressive at the start, trying to push Norris somewhere, risking losing out himself, or he could deliberately slow down Piastri and Norris in the second half of the race so that someone catches up and overtakes them (like Hamilton slowed down Rosberg in 2016). Certainly, Norris has a lot to lose and must be cautious. Piastri, on the other hand, in my opinion, has nothing to lose. He could be a dark horse here and, in case of tactical moves from Verstappen and Red Bull, risk an attack. Piastri, wanting to become champion, must win and count on weaker results from both rivals, so from his perspective, risk is advisable.
From the perspective of the McLaren drivers, the most important thing is a clean start; even losing one position, e.g., to Russell or Leclerc, will not be a problem, because the orange cars will have better race pace. If the start is clean, I expect McLaren will want to gain something through strategy so that one of their drivers overtakes Verstappen during the pit stops. I expect, for example, that they will try to extend the first stint. In the second half of the race, it will just be about guarding positions. If Piastri were to find himself in second position after the start, I expect he will attack for the win on track or through strategy.
It is worth adding that the McLaren drivers have two sets of hard tires each for the race (the only ones in the field) and one set of mediums. Verstappen has two sets of mediums and one set of hards. If the drivers were to go for two pit stops, the McLaren drivers will have slightly slower but also more durable tires.
Overview of other selected drivers and teams
Discussing the rest of the drivers, it is worth highlighting two things. In Q2, the entire field was within 0,367 seconds, which is a record. The balance of power was incredibly even. For Q3, only Verstappen and Russell had two sets of new tires each, while the rest had one. Some drove slower in Q3 than in Q2 or improved only slightly (Tsunoda’s time was deleted due to track limit violations). The balance of power could therefore have been slightly different if everyone had shown 100%.
Read more Verstappen won the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP and Norris became world champion
George Russell was the only driver from the rest of the field with the potential to fight for the TOP3, but even if
