F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and times at Yas Marina

For the final time, we’re underway with qualifying in F1 in 2023!

18 minutes where we will lose the slowest five drivers at the Yas Marina Circuit…

For the time being, no cars out on track.

It’s the final grand prix qualifying session of the season – could we have something different or will it be Max Verstappen dominant once more?

1) Max Verstappen – 549 points (champion)

2) Sergio Perez – 273 points

3) Lewis Hamilton – 232 points

4) Carlos Sainz – 200 points

5) Fernando Alonso – 200 points

6) Lando Norris – 195 points

7) Charles Leclerc – 188 points

8) George Russell – 160 points

9) Oscar Piastri – 89 points

10) Lance Stroll – 73 points

11) Pierre Gasly – 62 points

12) Esteban Ocon – 58 points

13) Alex Albon – 27 points

14) Yuki Tsunoda – 13 points

15) Valtteri Bottas – 10 points

16) Nico Hulkenberg – 9 points

17) Daniel Ricciardo – 6 points

18) Zhou Guanyu – 6 points

19) Kevin Magnussen – 3 points

20) Liam Lawson – 2 points

21) Logan Sargeant – 1 point

21) Nyck de Vries – 0 points

And it’s quite the outfit he has on – I wonder if he’s watching City vs Liverpool!

The 24-year-old has been present in the Formula 1 paddock this season as a reserve driver for Mercedes, driving in the simulator and providing cover for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

The German driver, son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, was dropped from his F1 race seat at Haas at the end of the 2022 season after two years but after experiencing a year without racing in 2023, Schumacher will race for Alpine in their Hypercar squad next season.

We’re just half-an-hour away from qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!

It’s been a patchy race weekend so far, with 10 drivers missing out on first practice for the rookies programme and FP2 curtailed by two crashes.

George Russell was fastest in the third practice session earlier, with the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the top-three.

Could we, perhaps, have something a bit different in qualifying later? Stay right here for all the build-up – the session starts at 2pm (GMT).

Feature by Kieran Jackson

It’s Saturday night in Sin City, 9pm local time. One hour until lights out. Walking out of the media centre, across the car park of the Tuscany Suites and Casino, and up through the various security checkpoints, you arrive at the highly coveted, yet strangely downplayed open space that is the Formula One paddock. Halfway down, between the garages of Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo, lies the grid access lane: a portal to the forthcoming chaos.

There is a chill in the air. A cool 15C temperature which, predicted all week, is about to play havoc with tyres in the 50 laps ahead. A pause for breath and then the steel-faced American bodyguard gives the go-ahead. On you stroll, pretending you belong here. Welcome to the curiously flummoxing experience that is the F1 pre-race grid.

1) Red Bull – 822 points (champions)

5) Aston Martin – 273 points

8) AlphaTauri – 21 points

9) Alfa Romeo – 16 points

Following on from an interview Horner gave saying that a representative of Hamilton had been in touch about joining the world champions, Hamilton had his say on Thursday – insisting that nobody from his team has been in touch and, in fact, Horner messaged him on an old phone.

The Mercedes driver added that Horner was simply “stirring things.”

Yet the Red Bull team principal looked to put the speculation to bed by divulging that it was Hamilton’s father and former manager Anthony who had touched base.