Formula 1: Abu Dhabi starting lineup – Max Verstappen takes shock pole

Max Verstappen took the pole position for the final race of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit.

As an engine manufacturer, Mercedes had taken each of the first 16 pole positions on the 17-race 2020 Formula 1 schedule (10 for Lewis Hamilton, five for Valtteri Bottas and one for Racing Point’s Lance Stroll).

But they couldn’t finish the sweep at Yas Marina Circuit, where they had taken the last six pole positions going back to 2014.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his first pole position since last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace for the 2020 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit, marking the first pole position for a non-Mercedes driver at the track since Red Bull’s Mark took the pole position for the race in 2013 before the V6 turbo hybrid era began the following year.

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Polesitters have won this race for five straight seasons going back to 2015.

Verstappen took the pole position for this 55-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates by recording a top lap time of 95.246 seconds (130.437 miles per hour) in the third and final round of qualifying for this race. He edged the Mercedes duo of Bottas and Hamilton, who qualified in second and third place, respectively. Bottas finished just 0.025 seconds (0.034 miles per hour) behind Verstappen with a top lap time of 95.271 seconds (130.403 miles per hour) while Hamilton finished just 0.061 seconds (0.084 miles per hour) behind Bottas with a top lap time of 95.332 seconds (130.319 miles per hour).

Hamilton did not compete in last Sunday’s Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit after testing positive for COVID-19.

McLaren’s Lando Norris qualified in an impressive fourth place ahead of Red Bull’s Alexander Albon in fifth and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in sixth. AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat qualified in seventh and is set to start alongside Stroll in eighth.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly were the slowest two of the 10 drivers who advanced to the third and final round of qualifying for the race. They qualified in ninth and 10th place, respectively.

Eliminated after the second round of qualifying were Renault teammates Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez. They qualified in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th place, respectively.

Eliminated after the first round of qualifying were Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ George Russell, Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi, who is filling in for Romain Grosjean as Grosjean continues to recover from the burns he suffered in a crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix, and Williams rookie Nicholas Latifi.

They qualified in 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th place, respectively. Russell, who filled in for Hamilton last weekend, is now 37 for 37 in terms of beating his teammates as a Williams driver, finishing the 2020 season going 16 for 16 against Latifi.

Here is the provisional starting lineup for the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. Note that grid penalties are not factored into this lineup.

Starting Lineup
1st – Max Verstappen
2nd – Valtteri Bottas
3rd – Lewis Hamilton
4th – Lando Norris
5th – Alexander Albon
6th – Carlos Sainz Jr.
7th – Daniil Kvyat
8th – Lance Stroll
9th – Charles Leclerc
10th – Pierre Gasly
11th – Esteban Ocon
12th – Daniel Ricciardo
13th – Sebastian Vettel
14th – Antonio Giovinazzi
15th – Sergio Perez
16th – Kimi Raikkonen
17th – Kevin Magnussen
18th – George Russell
19th – Pietro Fittipaldi
20th – Nicholas Latifi

Tune in to ESPN at 8:10 a.m. ET tomorrow morning for the live broadcast of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Yas Marina Circuit to conclude the 2020 Formula 1 season.