[ad_1]
Verstappen’s first pole position for the season
The last World Cup competition this year. Then Dutchman Max Verstappen achieved his first pole position for the Formula 1 season.
Max Verstappen was the fastest of all in Saturday’s F1 qualifying in Abu Dhabi.
The Red Bull driver was the fastest in the qualifying rounds and must therefore start at the front when the F1 season ends with the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday.
Verstappen is more closely pursued by two Mercedes drivers: the Finn Valterri Bottas and the English Lewis Hamilton. It was extremely even at the top, only 86 hundredths separated the top three, but it still ended in a disappointment for Mercedes, who lost pole position for the second time this year.
– I’m very happy with this. It was a difficult qualifying but luckily I did everything right on the last lap, says Verstappen.
World champion Hamilton has already been ill with covid-19 and thus missed last week’s competition in Bahrain, when he was replaced by his compatriot George Russell, 22.
It was the first time since 2007 that the 35-year-old had missed a World Cup race, but after leaving several negative corona tests, he is now back.
