Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Qualifying Recap

Event:  Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Round 20 of 20)

Date:  Saturday, Nov. 25

Location:  Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Layout:  5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn circuit

Weather:  Clear

Air Temps:  24.6-25 degrees Celsius (76.3-77 degrees Fahrenheit)

Track Temps:  29.3-31.5 degrees Celsius (84.7-88.7 degrees Fahrenheit)

Pole Winner:  Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:36.231 – new track record)

Result:  Kevin Magnussen qualified 14th / Romain Grosjean qualified 16th

●  Lasts 18 minutes, with all 20 drivers participating

●  Fastest 15 drivers advance to Q2

Magnussen:  14th quick (1:39.395), advanced to Q2

Grosjean:  16th quick (1:39.516)

Fastest Driver:  Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:37.356)

Cutoff:  15th-quick Lance Stroll of Williams (1:39.503)

●  Lasts 15 minutes, featuring the 15 fastest drivers from Q1

●  Fastest 10 drivers advance to Q3

Magnussen:  14th quick (1:39.298)

Fastest Driver:  Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:36.742)

Cutoff:  10th-quick Felipe Massa of Williams (1:38.565)

●  Lasts 12 minutes, featuring the 10 fastest drivers from Q2, all battling for the pole

Pole Winner:  Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:36.231)

Second:  Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:36.403)

Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean qualified 14th and 16th, respectively, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Sunday at Yas Marina Circuit.

Magnussen set the 14th-fastest time in Q1 with a lap of 1:39.395 around the 5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn track. Grosjean was 16th quickest with a lap of 1:39.516, falling one spot short of the top-15 cutoff to advance to Q2.

In Q2, Magnussen remained 14th fastest despite turning a lap that was .097 of a second better than his Q1 time. Only the top-10 drivers move on to Q3. 

Both Magnussen and Grosjean ran exclusively on the Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tire throughout qualifying.

Taking the pole for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas. His fast lap of 1:36.231 was .172 of a second better than runner-up and teammate Lewis Hamilton and it set a new all-time fastest lap at Yas Marina. It was Bottas’ fourth career Formula One pole – all of which have come this season – and his first in Abu Dhabi.

Before Magnussen, Grosjean and the rest of their Formula One counterparts participated in knockout qualifying, they had one final practice (FP3) to dial in their racecars for a quick lap around the track. After an installation lap on the Yellow soft compound, both drivers performed two timed stints, each utilizing ultrasofts to emulate qualifying.

Magnussen ran 19 laps and set the 14th-fastest time with a 1:39.831 on his 13th lap. Grosjean tallied 19 laps and earned his best time on his 12th lap – a 1:40.079 that put him 15th overall.

Quickest in FP3 was Hamilton, whose fast lap of 1:37.627 was .273 of a second better than Bottas.

“We didn’t do much in FP2 yesterday, so qualifying was always going to be tough. I don’t have any front end. Kevin (Magnussen) loves it, but I don’t like it. We’ve struggled to find the perfect balance. I’m struggling to drive the car that way and get the last few tenths out of the car. No excuse, but it just doesn’t fit my feelings. We’re going to work hard and try to find out what we can do to improve that. It’s been the case for about the last eight or nine races. We made a step in Brazil, but here with all the low-speed corners, it’s just difficult. Hopefully in the race, with more laps, it should get better. We need a lot to happen in the race tomorrow, but anything is possible.”

“I think we’ve been better here than our average. If you take away the likes of Australia, Austria, Silverstone, this is probably our average position or there about. I don’t think it’s that bad. We’ve done well to get back after missing FP1 which, unfortunately, I’ve had to a few times this year. We’ve gotten to a good point with the car and made some good steps since FP2 and through into FP3 and then to here. We’ve managed things well with the change in temperature with doing FP1 and FP3 in the sun, then FP2 and qualifying in the dark, where track temperature drops a lot and affects the tires a lot. It’s not an easy one to get right and I didn’t think we did a bad job with it. There’s nothing to lose tomorrow, so we’re going to go for it and give it everything.”