Qualifications – Abu Dhabi: The last Pole for Rosberg!

The 20 drivers of this 2015 Formula 1 season gathered at sunset for the last Qualifying session of the season. Typical weather in Abu Dhabi: 26 degrees in the air and 28 degrees on the track.

GREEN LIGHT: The final qualifying session of the season is under way as the drivers begin Q1 #AbuDhabiGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/NkkG81ywwe

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

At 5 PM local time (2 PM in France), Daniel Ricciardo led the pack into the narrow pit exit tunnel. Q1 was starting and the Australian set the very first timed lap. Despite their superiority, the Mercedes team sent their two drivers out on super-soft tires: unsurprisingly, Lewis Hamilton (1:40:974) took the lead, ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Behind them, the third man was Kimi Räikkönen, on soft tires. The first run placed the two Lotus cars in the top quarter of the timesheet with Maldonado in 4th place ahead of his teammate Romain Grosjean, who was participating in his final Qualifying session for the Enstone team. There will certainly be emotion in the Lotus garage after the checkered flag falls tomorrow at the end of the Grand Prix.

Last quali with @Lotus_F1Team …. #OffYouGoRoGro #AbuDhabiGP

— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) November 28, 2015

At the start of the second outing of the drivers on track, Daniil Kvyat, Jenson Button, Marcus Ericsson, Will Stevens, and Roberto Merhi were in the elimination zone. Only the Ferrari drivers decided to stay on soft tires, unlike their fellow competitors.

Until then threatened, Daniil Kvyat gained some breathing room by improving his lap time. Let us recall that the Russian had experienced a difficult start to the day at Yas Marina due to electrical problems. Conversely, the Saubers of Nasr and Ericsson were still facing the threat of elimination.

But a dramatic turn of events erupted at the end of the first session: Sebastian Vettel had been caught out! A sensation in Abu Dhabi with this elimination in Q1 for the German of Scuderia Ferrari. Two world champions were thus ejected from the Qualifications at the end of Q1: besides Vettel, Fernando Alonso had suffered a puncture fatal to his chances of a good ranking.

Eliminated at the end of Q1: Vettel, Alonso, Ericsson, Stevens, Merhi

EARLY EXIT: Sebastian Vettel is OUT of qualifying in Q1 after seemingly losing power in his Ferrari #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/DJnNdetrth

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

During Q2, Felipe Massa in his Williams was the first to take to the track. As in Q1, the initial laps favored Lewis Hamilton, once again leading ahead of Nico Rosberg at the top of the timesheet. Daniel Ricciardo was placed in third position. Romain Grosjean seemingly encountered a problem: his engineer called him back to the pits prematurely.

Lotus to Grosjean: “Bring back the car slowly, we have a problem”. He is yet to set a time #Quali #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/upSkCmIeUL

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

Five minutes from the end: the Frenchman was then virtually eliminated along with Carlos Sainz, Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado, and Felipe Nasr. Just ahead, the Williams are not yet officially saved from trouble: the FW37 seems fickle on this track which causes oversteering.

In any case, it is more reliable than Grosjean’s Lotus, which stopped on the track less than a minute before the end of the session: a cruel outcome for its driver who can’t even defend his chances.

Grosjean’s final qualifying session with Lotus ends disappointingly with hydraulic problems #AbuDhabiGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/Pm1TusxqB2

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

The complete opposite of Carlos Sainz who managed to snatch a spot in Q3 right under the nose (39 hundredths) of his teammate Max Verstappen. Therefore, the Spaniard wins the qualifying match for the season, 10-9.

Eliminated at the end of Q2: Verstappen, Button, Maldonado, Nasr, Grosjean

The last ten survivors of this session could thus battle it out in Q3! Sergio Perez didn’t wait a second and hurled himself onto the track: the Mexican had a chance to perform well.

But it was mainly the Hamilton-Rosberg duel that was particularly scrutinized. Nico Rosberg had the advantage of being behind his teammate on the track. In the first run, advantage to Rosberg: 1:40.738 compared to 1:41.016 for Hamilton! Blistering lap for Perez who then placed himself in third provisional position, ahead of Räikkönen and Ricciardo.

It’s ROS on provisional pole as he posts a 1:40.738 – three tenths of a second quicker than HAM #AbuDhabiGP #Quali pic.twitter.com/Cmbjdcqdzh

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

After a brief stop at the pit, the competing drivers gathered all their strength for their very last attempt. Ricciardo was the first to return to the track while Hamilton, as expected, came out ahead of Rosberg.

It was then that the Triple World Champion got back in the saddle with a final quality lap. But he only remained the provisional Poleman for a few seconds, as Nico Rosberg pushed to his limits to secure a brilliant Pole: the 6th consecutive and the 22nd of his career! 1:40:237 for the German, even though his engine was less powerful than Lewis Hamilton’s.

It's now SIX consecutive pole positions for @nico_rosberg – two behind Ayrton Senna's all-time record #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/ZiHRdR7ga0

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2015

Let’s also acknowledge the performance of Kimi Räikkönen, who snatched the third position from Sergio Perez. The Force India team is delighted at the end of the session with Nico Hülkenberg also securing 7th place.

Here is the detailed ranking from this qualifying session: