McLaren dominate Abu Dhabi F1 qualifying as Lando Norris grabs pole position

Lewis Hamilton suffers bizarre incident in final qualifying lap for Mercedes at Yas Marina Circuit

McLaren driver Lando Norris secured pole position in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit, on December 7, 2024. Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Pole position winner Lando Norris, centre, with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri who will start in second and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in third. AFP

McLaren driver Lando Norris after securing pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit. AFP

Red Bull's Sergio Perez will start third on the grid in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Red Bull driver and world champion Max Verstappen will start fifth at the Yas Marina Circuit. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez during qualifying. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver George Russell will start seventh on the grid. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start in 18th. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Williams driver Alexander Albon poses for a selfie ahead of qualifying. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Fans watch the final practice session at Yas Marina Circuit. Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Live updates: Follow the latest on the 2024 Abu Dhabi F1

Lando Norris qualified for pole position at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday as McLaren continued to dominate the concluding race weekend of 2024.

Teammate Oscar Piastri completed a McLaren lockout of the front row as they look to secure the constructors' championship.

World champion Max Verstappen will start from fifth while seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first qualifying session and will begin his final race for Mercedes in 18th position.

In a dramatic final twist, the McLaren pair nudged out Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari, who himself had just pushed Haas’s Niko Hulkenberg into the slot behind him.

The McLaren garage went wild after Norris and Piastri stormed to the top two places.

"It was a perfect, perfect day for us, probably a little bit tougher than we were hoping for," Norris said immediately after the race.

"We’ve been quick all weekend, we were pleased with the one-two but it was a bit trickier than what we would have liked. My lap in the end was strong and it was just how we wanted to end today."

With their pole slots and Ferrari’s misfortunes over the last two days, few would bet against them taking the constructors' championship this year.

Norris said that, evidently, McLaren’s aim was to secure victory over the Scuderia, but he wanted the team to do it “in style”.

Piastri was even more succinct. “Great result for the team,” he said. “Happy with that.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc could manage no higher than 14th, so, following his mandatory 10-place penalty on Friday, he will start the final race at the back of the grid.

Sainz appeared resigned to the increasingly difficult task Ferrari have set for themselves with regard to the constructors' championship.

“I think we’ve made some good progress through the week and I think McLaren have showed all weekend that they are a bit of a step ahead compared to everyone, and we were just there behind, two or three-tenths off,” he said.

However, he said the team were “just going to go for it tomorrow”, citing that this might be his last chance for a victory of this kind.

Max Verstappen, already the champion, finished fifth, putting in a more accomplished performance than we had seen from the Dutchman over the weekend so far.

A solid drive from Pierre Gasly saw the Alpine driver manage sixth position, followed by George Russell in the Mercedes and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Valtteri Bottas in the Kick Sauber and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez took the last two slots in the top 10.

Meanwhile, seven-time F1 champion Hamilton suffered a bizarre incident that wrecked his final qualifying lap.

A plastic pole marking the inside of a corner was knocked loose by Kevin Magnussen's Haas and Hamilton drove over it, leaving the object jammed under his Mercedes.

Hamilton was already among the slowest in the first part of qualifying and he was eliminated shortly after. “I messed that up big time, guys," Hamilton told the team over the radio.

Hamilton is moving to Ferrari for 2025 after 12 years with Mercedes, where he won six drivers' titles.