Max Verstappen will start from pole position for the 2025 title decider in Abu Dhabi after beating championship rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the fastest time in qualifying. Verstappen sits 12 points behind Norris in the standings heading into Sunday’s finale, meaning Norris can secure the title with a podium finish regardless of where anyone else places. Verstappen’s most realistic route to a fifth world championship is to win the race and hope events push Norris outside the top three. Piastri is 16 points off the lead, leaving him with an outside chance unless something unexpected happens to the cars ahead.
Verstappen set two laps in Q3 that would have been enough for pole position, ultimately finishing 0.201 seconds ahead of Norris. The reigning champion’s qualifying performance follows victories in Las Vegas and Qatar as part of a late season charge that has kept him in the hunt. Verstappen admitted he needs a little help on Sunday, but said he will approach the race with nothing to lose. He explained that his focus is to win, defend if he is in front, and attack if he needs to. His view is that the outcome will either be second or third in the standings, or the title, so he intends to go all out.
"It was a Simply Lovely Qualifying," said Verstappen. "We did well the whole weekend, have been fine tuning the car and then also made some final changes which helped the car a little bit. This allowed me to push a bit more to the limit and extract the most out of the car. We were improving nicely in Qualifying and then found a little bit more lap time with the corners. The big question mark is can we keep up that pace in the race? Thank you to Yuki for the tow, it helped for sure, but it was nice of him to give up one of his laps. He was a great Team player, so thank you for that. Tomorrow, the plan is to win the race and then we need a bit of luck to win the Championship, it’s as simple as that. We will go all out and have nothing to lose, whether we need to attack or defend. The most important battle needs to happen tomorrow and we need to outscore them by 12 points; we knew that if we wanted to be in the fight we had to be first. I have the least to lose and I am very relaxed. It is exciting to be on Pole, but we just need a bit of luck for the rest of it and some Abu Dhabi magic."
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Norris was disappointed to miss out on pole, but praised Verstappen’s lap. He said his own lap felt strong and he was happy with his performance even though it was not enough. He added that his goal for Sunday remains to win, and that he will try to control what he can in the final race of the season. Norris can take the championship with a top three finish, regardless of Verstappen’s result.
Behind the lead trio, George Russell took fourth for Mercedes after showing pace that threatened the title battle until the final segment of qualifying. Russell will start ahead of Charles Leclerc, who placed fifth for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso secured sixth for Aston Martin, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto in seventh for Sauber, Esteban Ocon in eighth for Haas, and Isack Hadjar in ninth for Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsunoda qualified tenth for Red Bull after having his final time deleted for track limits. His earlier laps were timed so he could provide a slipstream for Verstappen on the back straight.
Oliver Bearman narrowly missed Q3 for Haas, qualifying eleventh after falling short by just 0.007 seconds. Carlos Sainz will start twelfth for Williams after taking a podium in Qatar, with Liam Lawson in thirteenth for Racing Bulls. Kimi Antonelli ended up fourteenth for Mercedes after struggling with rear end grip, and will line up ahead of Lance Stroll in fifteenth for Aston Martin. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 for the third race in a row, and for the fourth session in succession when including sprint qualifying in Qatar, leaving him sixteenth on the grid. He missed Q2 by 0.008 seconds and was just over two tenths behind Leclerc’s benchmark. When told over the radio, Hamilton apologized to the team.
Alex Albon will start seventeenth for Williams, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in eighteenth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, who will start nineteenth and twentieth respectively for Alpine.
One possible strategic scenario for Verstappen on Sunday is to control the pace at the front and slow the McLarens into the chasing pack. This tactic has been used before, most famously when Lewis Hamilton controlled Nico Rosberg during the 2016 title decider in Abu Dhabi. Verstappen noted that it may be more difficult now because of changes to the track, the cars, and how drivers benefit from aerodynamic tow around the lap. He added that tire behavior and track layout make the situation very different compared to earlier years.
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The Red Bull driver preserved two sets of fresh soft tires for Q3, running scrubbed tires in Q2. As track temperatures dropped, he felt he could push harder, and those final laps proved decisive. Verstappen said that maximizing the car and controlling everything within their capability was the key, and that qualifying delivered as well as they could have hoped.
On Sunday, Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri will begin nose to tail, with the world championship on the line. Norris controls the destiny of the title with the simplest equation, a podium ensures he becomes champion for the first time. Verstappen must win and hope Norris drops to fourth or lower. Piastri would need a significant swing in results to claim the title, but begins from a strong position in third. Russell, Leclerc, Alonso, Bortoleto, Ocon, Hadjar, and Tsunoda complete the top ten on the grid.
The stage is set for one of the most dramatic finales in recent memory, with three drivers still in contention as the lights go out in Abu Dhabi.