by The contrast between the playful bullying of Max Verstappen and Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes going mad after the final qualifying session of 2023 could not sum up their seasons better.
With Verstappen on pole for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – taking his tally to 12 this year – and Hamilton in 11th, this was their respective success. After 22 race qualifying sessions Red Bull, even when seemingly struggling, were on top when it mattered. Hamilton, meanwhile, was baffled as to how, after all this time, his car had remained so determinedly mercurial that he could not clearly predict that he and the team would not can’t wait to see the back.
Related: Mercedes and Ferrari offer some fireworks as a waste for second place
Red Bull struggled all weekend with Verstappen’s car to find and set the right balance in practice at Yas Marina. In fact, after practice three they were seven tenths off the pace.
They were so relieved to see team principal Christian Horner tell his driver during Verstappen’s in-lap that the pole had won him €500 (£430) after the team’s head of motorsport, Helmut Marko, bet do after FP3 that was. Verstappen wouldn’t even be able to make the front row. But again in Verstappen’s hands the car was invincible at the sharp end of a competitive session.
“I think Helmut learned his lesson, don’t bet against me,” laughed Verstappen. A lesson his rivals have learned this season.
With a great run in Q3, he beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into second place by just over a tenth of a second and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri into third. Leclerc had delivered a great lap and left nothing on the table, hurling his car through the corners of the race but still left him clutching at straws.
As Red Bull was getting worse, Mercedes could only shut down. Hamilton struggled to control the rear of a car that lacked balance and went out in Q2 for the second race in a row. As evidence of how biased a piece of machinery can be, his colleague, Russell, managed to claim fourth place.
Questioned about his feelings knowing that this would be the last time he would have to qualify in this car, Hamilton was in no doubt. “I’m definitely glad it’s almost over,” he said. “It’s inconsistent, up and down, very out of balance and hard to predict what’s going to happen.”
He looked tired and exasperated as he spoke and understandably so. He might have said the same thing about him at the first race of the season.
With Mercedes bringing a completely different design philosophy to their car next season team principal Toto Wolff was restless as he looked forward to saying goodbye to the W14. “I’m happy that was the last qualifying of the season and we’re going to come with a new car,” he said, with a Hamilton-like hung-dog air.
This was not the result for the team either as they sought second place in the constructors’ championship with Ferrari remaining very balanced and even up to £10m in prize money for the runner up behind. Red Bull. Mercedes have a slight lead, four points ahead of Ferrari, but neither side has a definite advantage after qualifying.
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Ferrari suffered an early blow to their hopes when Carlos Sainz could only manage 16th place, having been knocked out in Q1 when he collided with traffic. With Hamilton 11th, Russell fourth and Leclerc second the spread is almost even across the grid, a potential battle royale on the horizon as Verstappen slips away to end his season with a 19th win.
If he does so, it will extend his season record and take him to 54th career victory over Sebastian Vettel’s mark. The Dutchman will then take his place with the third highest number of wins behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. No one, and certainly not Marko, will bet against him.
Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was fifth on his final hot lap but had his time destroyed to breach track limits and finished ninth. Lando Norris was fifth for McLaren, Yuki Tsunoda sixth for AlphaTauri, Fernando Alonso seventh for Aston Martin, Nico Hülkenberg eighth for Haas and Pierre Gasly tenth for Alpine.
Esteban Ocon was 12th for Alpine, Lance Stroll 13th for Aston Martin, Alex Albon 14th for Williams and Daniel Ricciardo 15th for AlphaTauri. Kevin Magnussen was 17th for Haas, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu 18th and 19th for Alfa Romeo and Logan Sargeant 20th for Williams.
