F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

The last hour of qualifying for the 2025 Formula 1 season has arrived.

And what a spectacle awaits us.

The three remaining title contenders: Lando Norris, Max Verstappenand Oscar Piastri – are ready to fight for pole position along with the rest of the field at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The stakes could not be higher, as only 16 points separate those three drivers in the fight for the Drivers’ Championship. Norris enters the weekend with the lead in the standings, with 408 points, with Verstappen 12 points behind with 396.

Piastri has 392 points after leading the standings for most of the season.

Earlier in the week, we looked at the various title permutations and described how Norris is the only driver who truly controls his destiny in the title race. With a podium, the British driver will secure his first Drivers’ Championship, regardless of where Verstappen and Piastri finish. There are other ways Norris can clinch a title in the season finale, but they depend on where his two rivals finish in the pecking order.

Both Verstappen and Piastri have a path to a title, but would need help along the way.

Until then, however, there is still something to do: set the starting grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris topped the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2, but was George Russell who led the way in the final hour of practice, followed by Norris and then Verstappen.

Qualifying begins at 9:00 am ET, so follow along as the biggest qualifying hour of the season unfolds!

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix provisional grid

Here is the provisional starting grid for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The places will be filled throughout the qualifying hour:

F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Classification

The ten drivers who advanced to Q3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in order of arrival to Q2: Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Alonso, Bortoleto, Leclerc, Hadjar, Piastri, Ocon and Tsunoda.

With Tsunoda in Q3, one wonders if Red Bull intends to put him in position to give Verstappen a tow at the end of the session, if necessary.

Finally it was time for Q3.

The biggest segment of the season.

Red Bull went first with Tsunoda leading Verstappen around the circuit, perhaps bringing that tow scenario into play. Verstappen was also wearing a new set of C5 tyres, hoping to use fresh tires and clinch a spot on the front row.

Verstappen’s first sector was the best of the entire hour of qualifying up to that point, as he actually followed Tsunoda in the first two sectors.

Verstappen clocked 1:22.295, a strong opening tactic from the four-time champion. Norris responded first with a 1:22.751, well off the pace, but that lap came on used soft tyres. Piastri was next, also on worn soft tyres, and cut the beam with a 1:22.622, jumping into second place ahead of Norris and behind Verstappen.

Russell was next, who took a big hit at Turn 14, settling for fifth place behind Leclerc and the championship contenders.

Going into the final laps, Verstappen had a lead of 0.327 seconds over Piastri and 0.456 seconds over Norris. In the F1TV commentary box, Alex Jacques, David Coulthard and Jolyon Palmer opined that Red Bull would likely send Tsunoda ahead of Verstappen once again, to give the four-time champion another tow.

And perhaps do even better, as Tsunoda might have been too far ahead of Verstappen on track to maximize the aerodynamic advantage.

With the clock showing 3:50 remaining, Red Bull ejected Tsunoda. Radio chatter then caught Russell asking Mercedes to put him behind Verstappen, thinking the Red Bull driver would be happy to tow Russell to try and get him ahead of the McLaren duo.

With 2:30 left, Verstappen roared out of his garage, trying to slip behind Tsunoda on the track.

The match began in Abu Dhabi as the final two minutes of the qualifying session began.

Notably, Piastri was on track ahead of Norris, perhaps giving McLaren the opportunity to play their own team game.

First up was Piastri, who finished the first sector just 0.049 seconds behind the phenomenal time Verstappen recorded in that sector moments earlier. Norris was next and was also strong in that first sector, leading into Sectors 2 and 3, where McLaren has been strongest this week.

Piastri cut the beam with a 1:22.437, but it was only good for second place. Norris followed with a 1:22.408, which placed him in second position, but it was Verstappen who took pole.

When the dust settled, the top three contenders were in the top three spots with Verstappen on pole, followed by Norris and Piastri.

When Q2 began, there were 15 minutes on the clock and Verstappen was at the front of the field, waiting for the green light at the end of pit lane.

His benchmark time of 1:22.912 set the initial standard in Q2, but notably, he was behind Piastri’s best lap in Q1.

However, Verstappen set that time on a used set of C5 soft tyres.

Other lap times came in and most of the drivers slotted in behind Verstappen, except for Russell who jumped up to P1 with a 1:22.730, which came on a set of new soft tires but also slotted in behind Piastri’s leading effort from Q1. The McLarens were next, with Piastri placing fourth behind Verstappen, while Norris crossed the line in P2.

Both laps were done on used soft tyres.

Verstappen’s second push lap, again on used soft tyres, crossed the line in 1:22.752, jumping back into second place ahead of Norris and Piastri.

As the clock reached six minutes left, Russell continued to lead the timesheets, followed by Verstappen, Norris and Piastri. Alonso finished fifth, ahead of debutant Bortoleto.

Hadjar, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Bearman and Lawson were the five drivers in the relegation zone.

It was then that Yas Marina fell silent and most of the peloton waited in their respective garages, making final adjustments before the final flurry of push laps. The only driver on the track at the time was Verstappen, but he too was returning to the Red Bull pits.

Yas Marina came to life after four minutes as Sainz led the majority of the field down the pit lane and onto the circuit. Piastri and Norris were among the drivers who went out early for the final races, looking to secure their spots in the final segment of the year’s standings.

Only Verstappen remained in his garage.

Ferrari’s concern grew on Leclerc’s last push lap, as he had yellow in the first sector. He crossed the line in 1:22.948 to jump to fourth place, a time he needed as he began his final push lap in tenth place.

Antonelli jumped to eighth place, but a good lap from Bortoleto saw the Sauber rookie move up to fourth, leaving Antonelli in ninth position. Lawson then lapped ahead of Antonelli, leaving the Mercedes rookie in P11 and in the relegation zone.

Antonelli was not the only surprise in the elimination zone, as Bearman, who had been strong in Q1, was eliminated in P11. Along with the Haas rookie were Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli and Stroll.

For the last time this season, 18 minutes were put on the clock and Q1 began in Yas Marina. The Alpine duo of Gasly and Colapinto headed the grid at the circuit, followed by Lawson and Hamilton.

That was a positive sign for Ferrari, after Hamilton crashed into the barrier during FP3.

Interestingly, there was a tire split among the early racers. Gasly and Hamilton used the C4 medium compound, while Stroll, Lawson and Colapinto used the C4 hard tire.

Gasly set the initial mark of 1:24.729, but that time was quickly eclipsed by a lap of 1:24.068 from Hamilton. Stroll, with a set of soft tires bolted to his AMR25, jumped into P1 for a moment only to be eclipsed by the Sauber duo of Hülkenberg and Bortoleto, with the veteran’s time of 1:23.473 leading the way.

It was around the 13th minute when the title contenders left their respective garages.

Verstappen was the first of the three to set a lap time, clocking a 1:23.325 to go top of the table by 0.148 seconds over Hülkenberg. Norris was the first to respond, but his initial move placed him behind Verstappen in 1:23.430, putting the McLaren driver in third.

It was all for Piastri, who managed a 1:23.255, which put him ahead of Verstappen and Norris, but he was only second as Bearman led with a time of 1:23.254, just 0.001 seconds ahead of Piastri. But the Haas rookie dropped to second place after Russell posted a time of 1:23.247 to lead the way.

After the first races, Piastri was third, Verstappen fourth and Norris seventh.

At the other end of the time table, the five drivers in the relegation zone were Ocon, Albon, Leclerc, Gasly and Colapinto.

As the clock reached five minutes remaining in Q1, the pit lane came to life, as the drivers took to the track for their final push laps with Norris in the lead, looking to get some clean air and book his place in Q2.

The British driver came home with a time of 1:23.178, which placed him in first position for the moment. But he quickly dropped to second position as Piastri came home with a 1:22.605, more than half a second ahead of his McLaren team-mate.

Verstappen was next with a lap that put him ahead of Norris, and the Red Bull driver was in P2, ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc. Piastri, Verstappen, Antonelli, Leclerc and Norris were in the top five when the stopwatch hit zero, but there were still times ahead.

At the bottom of the table, Gasly and Colapinto were the first two drivers eliminated, but the Sauber pairing of Hülkenberg and Bortoleto continued to push, as did Ocon. Ocon jumped to P12 to advance, and then Bortoleto crossed the line in P14 to knock out Hamilton.

Hamilton, Albon, Hülkenberg, Gasly and Colapinto were the five drivers eliminated in Q1.