F1 LIVE! Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying stream, updates, latest news and TV as Sebastian Vettel makes Q3
Vettel #Vettel
Qualifying for the final race of the year is underway with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid order to be decided. Max Verstappen is the favourite for pole position despite signs of a Mercedes revival.
Lewis Hamilton avoided a penalty for a red-flag overtake in third practice this morning as he prepares for his last shot at a victory in 2022, alongside Brazil victor George Russell. Ferrari, meanwhile, are less optimistic of their chances of success.
Plenty of storylines are left to keep an eye on at Yas Marina Circuit including Sebastian Vettel’s final F1 outing and Daniel Ricciardo’s exit from McLaren. Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are also in a hotly-contested fight for second place in the standings – prompting Red Bull’s team-orders controversy. Sky Sports will broadcast today’s qualifying on TV and you can keep up to date with all the action via Standard Sport’s live blog!
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying updates
And Charles Leclerc reviews his P3 grid slot 15:08 , Marc Mayo
“I locked up in turn six, seven but to be honest this is the place we deserve. The Red Bull was stronger but we’re still in quite a good place. It’s going to be trick but we’ll give it all.”
Sergio Perez up next 15:07 , Marc Mayo
“It’s a good place, I just didn’t make that final step in Q3. We were a bit behind. Max did a great job for me on that final run. It’s going to be an interesting [race] given how strong Ferrari, Mercedes will be.”
Max Verstappen reacts 15:05 , Marc Mayo
“It was a bit of an up and down qualfiying, started quite well. Q2 was a bit more messy, Q3 felt a bit more normal. We had a bit of a scare – the car turned off and had to reboot everything.”
Final classification 15:04 , Marc Mayo
Ninth place on the grid for the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
Chequered flag! 15:01 , Marc Mayo
Leclerc tops Perez but is a tenth off Verstappen before Sainz fails to improve.
Verstappen next, adding a tenth and a half to his time before Perez jumps the Ferraris!
Hamilton bagged the best first sector but can only manage fifth, and he beats Russell.
A Red Bull one-two!
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:59 , Marc Mayo
Leclerc is the first of the frontrunners to begin another hot lap and Verstappen will give a bit of a tow to Perez for Red Bull’s last run.
Into the final minute we go…
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:57 , Marc Mayo
Seventh for Vettel, a six-tenth lead of Ocon with the McLarens yet to put in a time.
Across comes Ricciardo and he sets a 1:25.054, just behind his old teammate.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:55 , Marc Mayo
With one last set of new Softs left, Vettel is out now to put in a solitary hot lap.
This will be the German’s very last qualifying lap in F1 (and maybe the same for Ricciardo, who is also out now).
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:53 , Marc Mayo
A wobbly final corner costs Perez!
He’s only second with 0.035 seconds his gap to Sainz, who loses top spot after Verstappen puts in a 1:23.988.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:52 , Marc Mayo
Red Bull keep Verstappen back for a moment to deal with a minor issue, which has been fixed but may upset their slipstream plans.
Hamilton comes across the Dutchman’s out-lap on his first quick run. A 1:24.678 is a personal best for him today.
Russell is only 0.016 behind to go second.
In come the Ferraris and Sainz grabs provisional pole, with a 1:24.281, six hundredths quicker than Leclerc’s time.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:49 , Marc Mayo
The two Mercedes head out on used tyres ahead of the Ferrari cars as the 12-minute session begins.
Green light! 14:48 , Marc Mayo
Let’s get down to business and decide our final pole-sitter for the 2022 F1 season.
14:46 , Marc Mayo
Vettel through again but Red Bull are causing him all kinds of issues with being held up: “That’s impossible! Three times in a row!”
Both McLarens join him in the final Q3 session, although Ricciardo does have a three-place penalty for the race after crashing into Magnussen in Brazil.
Chequered flag! 14:41 , Marc Mayo
Leclerc is in the bottom five as Ricciardo enters the top ten…
A fine lap to go second leaves him a tenth off Perez.
Norris goes sixth to send Alonso into the drop zone as both McLarens make it out! Alonso, Tsunoda, Schumacher, Stroll and Zhou are out.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:39 , Marc Mayo
Stroll clears the drop zone but is pushed down towards it again as Vettel bags another mighty hot lap, going fifth.
A hint of incredulity from Hamilton at discovering his gap to Perez.
The Red Bull is on an out lap right now, can he grow the margin? Verstappen will surely gain some time too…
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:35 , Marc Mayo
Hamilton goes second, three tenths off Perez after losing plenty of time on the main back straight where Red Bull have the power advantage.
Russell can only go fourth, 0.521 behind the leader.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:34 , Marc Mayo
Vettel lost a tenth maybe after discovering the Red Bull of Perez going slow at the final corner.
“Again, again!” he shouts down team radio, finger-pointing at his old team.
Vertsappen complains of “zero rear grip” for his lap as Hamilton heads around on fresh Softs.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:32 , Marc Mayo
Verstappen steams through on a 1:24.862 but Perez romps home four tenths quicker!
The Mexican is on a mission in Abu Dhabi.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:30 , Marc Mayo
Used tyres on the Mercedes pair as they put in a first lap, perhaps more to continue exploratory work to help tweak their setups rather than clock a serious time.
New tyres for the Red Bull pair as they join the rest of the pack on track.
Ten minutes to go of Q2, after which we’ll lose another five drivers.
Green light! 14:27 , Marc Mayo
Russell and Hamilton out first for Q2.
Red Bull led Ferrari in that starter session, so work to do for Mercedes.
Chequered flag! 14:21 , Marc Mayo
A super lap from Seb Vettel! He comes home sixth in Q1 as Zhou and Schumacher also pull out good times.
Magussen misses out by half a tenth as Alonso sneaks through.
Gasly, Bottas, Albon and Latifi also depart.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:19 , Marc Mayo
The first of two hot laps for Vettel to try and reach the second part of qualifying on his final F1 grand prix.
He’s four tenths up on Stroll, who’s 15th, after the second sector.
It’s a 1:25.5 to go fifth!
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:16 , Marc Mayo
Mercedes go out on a slightly used set of Soft tyres for their final runs, Russell in fifth and Hamilton seventh so safe from the drop.
Two Red Bulls and two Ferraris lead Q1, Verstappen fastest.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:14 , Marc Mayo
Stroll the driver at risk with five minutes left.
Vettel, Schumacher, Bottas, Albon and Latifi the five drivers in the drop zone.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:13 , Marc Mayo
Alonso is the last driver to put in a lap time and he lands 12th on the timesheet.
Complaints from Verstappen that his headrest is broken. Better to happen in Q1, where we only lose than slowest five drivers, than later on.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:10 , Marc Mayo
Ten minutes left of Q1 and Perez goes quickest, but has Verstappen setting the fastest first sector behind him.
A 1:24.754 puts him top of the timesheet by only 0.66 of a second.
Hamilton is almost a second off, between the McLarens in fifth. Russell not much faster…
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:07 , Marc Mayo
A 1:26.135 for Tsunoda puts him top of those eight heading out looking to make it out of Q1. Vettel is 0.15 seconds back.
Now we see Verstappen, Leclerc and Co enter the track.
No Alpine or Mercedes yet, though.
F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying 14:04 , Marc Mayo
Vettel gets out on track as Aston Martin, Haas, AlphaTauri and Williams send their cars out to clock an early time.
Green light! 14:01 , Marc Mayo
Qualifying begins at Yas Marina Circuit…
Countdown to qualifying 13:57 , Marc Mayo
A fascinating subplot this weekend is the fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, worth millions of pounds in prize money.
Alpine hold a 19-point lead over McLaren, is that enough?
More on Lewis Hamilton 13:52 , Marc Mayo
The stewards have stated that Hamilton and Mercedes accepted they overtook cars under the red flag but, with the seven-time world champion on a hot lap as he went past two cars going slow, felt he did take precaution.
Hamilton “took every reasonable action to comply with the regulations” as he took his foot off the pedal and hit the brakes.
It was also noted that a similar incident involving Max Verstappen at Zandvoort last year also saw no penalty.
Christian Horner to Sky Sports on Brazil team orders row 13:49 , Marc Mayo
“It was frustrating for everybody, a situation we hadn’t envisaged. The mistake we made was we hadn’t discussed it prior to the race. That’s what it was, there was obviously emotions between the drivers. We dealt with it as a team.”
No penalty for Lewis Hamilton! 13:45 , Marc Mayo
The news is confirmed: no penalty for Lewis Hamilton for his practice demeanour.
Another subplot to watch is Mick Schumacher’s final qualifying for Haas, can he go out with a bang?
The German is determined to ensure his F1 career is not over…
F2 result 13:36 , Marc Mayo
Liam Lawson wins the F2 Sprint Race in Abu Dhabi ahead of qualifying in F1.
Bet you didn’t expect to see Mike Riley at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 13:30 , Marc Mayo
F1 race control and VAR, two officiating processes that get a fair bit of stick, join together to learn how both can evolve.
Lewis Hamilton confident of challenging Red Bulls 13:24 , Marc Mayo
Speaking after yesterday’s second practice, which is the most representative of all the warm-ups in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton felt Mercedes were able to compete with Red Bull.
“I think it looks a little bit closer [than in Brazil],” Hamilton told reporters.
“I think the Red Bulls look a little bit quicker here, which is expected. We didn’t expect this to be our strongest race.
“But we’ll work hard overnight and we’re generally right there, so hopefully we can put on a good fight.”
Sprint races set to grow in 2023 13:17 , Marc Mayo
Next year, we’ll see six F1 Sprint races up from three this year.
Tracks currently pinned for the Saturday event are Azerbaijan, Austria, Spa, Qatar, Austin and Brazil.
Another tweak in the offing is DRS being enabled after one lap instead of two, pushing for more overtaking.
Not just in Qatar is their pro-equality in sport 13:11 , Marc Mayo
Lewis Hamilton will wear this bespoke helmet design in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
FP3 highlights 13:07 , Marc Mayo
A rather unusual tyre puncture for Pierre Gasly, on his last race for AlphaTauri, as bodywork pinged off his car.
George Russell reflects on Brazil triumph 13:02 , Marc Mayo
With Mercedes second-favourites to Red Bull this weekend, George Russell has told the Guardian of his joy at winning in Brazil.
“Winning in a way is easy, because everybody is happy, you are celebrating on Sunday night, your emotions are not being tested when you are successful,” he said.
“No one needs a lesson in how to drink a glass of champagne or celebrate but when you have a really tough weekend and the whole team have put in such an effort, to not get a result at the end of it, we feel that and we have to dig deeper than ever.”
Sebastian Vettel’s farewell 12:50 , Marc Mayo
There have been many brilliant memories of Sebastian Vettel this weekend and one favourite is this little clip of Aston Martin team member Matt Bishop doing up the German’s tie for him at a film shoot.
Alex Albon dons Nicholas Latifi tribute 12:46 , Marc Mayo
A nod across the Williams garage was Alex Albon ahead of Nicholas Latifi’s final race with the team, and potentially in F1 more generally after three points finishes in three years for the 27-year-old Canadian.
Will Lewis Hamilton be hit with a grid penalty? 12:40 , Marc Mayo
Jenson Button has erred on Lewis Hamilton’s side as the stewards investigate the Brit overtaking under red-flag conditions in practice.
Replays show a board next to the track with a yellow flag on one side and a red on the other…
We’ll bring you news of the investigation outcome when we have it.
Alpine pair read the riot act 12:35 , Marc Mayo
Laurent Rossi, the Alpine CEO, has reminded Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon of their duties to the team after clashing once again in Brazil a week ago.
“I reminded them of our contracts, and I reminded them I have plenty of drivers that are longing to race in their place, and it would be a shame to finish the year with two other drivers, even if it costs me a lot,” said Rossi.
“They took the responsibility, and they did a brilliant job. It happens to everyone I guess. That is what makes those drivers incredible champions, they have this killer instinct.
“Sometimes it goes a bit too far. That’s my role as well, to bring them back in a better space.”
You always get a show in Abu Dhabi 12:29 , Marc Mayo
A full-on, no expense spared experience as this display between sessions demonstrates…
Lewis Hamilton under investigation 12:23 , Marc Mayo
The Mercedes driver appeared to overtake two cars under a red flag in third practice, the stewards are currently taking a look to see exactly when Hamilton was told to slow down.
FP3 results 12:18 , Marc Mayo
Red Bull, Red Bull, Mercedes, Mercedes in practice this morning. That may be a theme for the weekend…
Will it rain in Abu Dhabi? 12:13 , Marc Mayo
Err, no.
Wall-to-wall sunshine as the night approaches for this session, temperatures to steadily drop from around 29°C.
A mild breeze could catch a driver or two out.
How to watch 12:08 , Marc Mayo
TV channel: In the UK, qualifying will be shown live on Sky Sports F1. Coverage begins at 1.15pm GMT before a 2pm session start time.
Free highlights will be available to watch on Channel 4 at 6.40pm.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the race action live online via the SkyGo app.
Hello and welcome! 12:01 , Marc Mayo
Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix takes place in just a couple of hours’ time with a 2pm start for the session.
Yas Marina Circuit once again hosts the season curtain-closer.
And you can follow all the action LIVE via Standard Sport’s blog, right here!