Lando Norris took pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri as McLaren put themselves in a perfect position to clinch their first constructors’ title since 1998.
Norris headed Piastri by 0.209 seconds at the end of a gripping, topsy-turvy qualifying session at the final race of the season.
Carlos Sainz took third place for Ferrari, who trail McLaren by 21 points heading into Sunday’s race.
His team-mate Charles Leclerc will start at the back, qualifying 13th after having his lap time in second qualifying deleted for exceeding track limits, and with a 10-place grid penalty to come.
Lewis Hamilton qualified 18th in his final race for Mercedes after his decisive lap in the first session was wrecked when his car collected a bollard dislodged by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas as the Dane tried to get out of Hamilton’s way.
“You couldn’t make it up,” said Hamilton, who is set to start 16th after penalties for Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon. “It is what it is.”
More to follow