Formula 1 season finale: On the way to the team title: McLaren ahead in qualification

McLaren goes into the Formula 1 season finale with the best chance of winning the constructors’ championship. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured the first two starting positions for the Grand Prix in qualifying in Abu Dhabi and therefore have a good chance of maintaining their lead over their pursuers To successfully defend Ferrari.

Norris drove the fastest lap under floodlights in 1:22.595 minutes, while the Australian Piastri came closest, around two tenths of a second behind. Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari raced to third place in the United Arab Emirates. The German Nico Hülkenberg surprisingly drove his Haas racing car to fourth place and even managed it ahead of world champion Max Verstappen, who finished fifth in the Red Bull.

Norris is also aiming for a race win

“It was a perfect day for us, but maybe a little harder than expected. I still managed a strong lap,” said Norris and looked ahead to the race: “I want to win. We know what we have to do, to achieve our big goal.”

For McLaren it is about the first constructors’ title since 1998; Ferrari has not won in the team world championship since 2008. The Scuderia is 21 points behind before the 24th and final race of the season and needs a lot of help in the Grand Prix on Sunday (2 p.m./Sky) in order to get to the top. “Our goal must of course be to beat Ferrari,” said Norris.

Because the Mexican Sergio Pérez had a weak season and collected too few points, defending champion Red Bull no longer has a chance of first place. After two triumphs in a row in the last two years, Mercedes only finished third. Max Verstappen has not been able to be pushed out of the lead for two weeks; he has won the drivers’ title for the fourth time in a row.

Leclerc has to start last

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc experienced bitter days. Food poisoning had been causing him problems since Thursday evening. After an almost sleepless night, the battery in his car had to be changed on Friday. Because he had already used the maximum permitted number this season, he received a ten-place penalty.

In qualifying he only came 14th because his fastest lap was subsequently deleted. He drove outside the track markings and has to start last on Sunday. This means the prospects for the team title are difficult.

The final qualifying for Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes also ended disappointingly. Before he left for Ferrari in the winter, the record world champion only managed 18th place. “That was bad,” the 39-year-old radioed to his team. TV pictures showed that the last lap was too slow and wasn’t entirely his fault. A bollard was briefly stuck in front of his car, which the Dane Kevin Magnussen had pushed onto the track after a driving error.