Dominant Verstappen takes Abu Dhabi pole
Red Bull's Max Verstappen took the final pole position of the Formula One season on Saturday with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc joining the triple world champion on the front row at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit. McLaren's Oscar Piastri qualified third for McLaren, although the Australian rookie faced a stewards hearing for allegedly impeding Alpine's Pierre Gasly, with Mercedes' George Russell fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris dropped from a provisional second after the first flying laps to an eventual fifth when he clipped a kerb on his final effort. "The whole weekend so far has been a bit of a struggle so we definitely improved the car for qualifying," said Verstappen, who can end the year with a record-extending 19th win in 22 races. "From lap one it all seemed a bit more together and we could definitely push more." Red Bull have won 20 of the 21 races so far, another F1 record, and Verstappen has won in Abu Dhabi for the past three years. Both titles have already been clinched. The 26-year-old Dutch driver, whose team mate Sergio Perez qualified in ninth place, had complained in practice about his car jumping around 'like a kangaroo'. Russell had been fastest in two of the practice sessions and Leclerc in the other, raising hopes elsewhere that Verstappen might not have it all his own way and some doubts even within Red Bull. (Reuters)