World champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
It was the six-time Formula One champion’s record-extending 88th pole of his career and ended a surprising run of 10 races without pole since the German GP in late July.
“That’s what I’ve been looking for,” said Hamilton, who has won 10 races this season. “Yesterday was quite wobbly so I had to come back focused.”
It also moved the British driver level on a season-leading five poles with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who finished .194 seconds behind him. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third quickest at .360 seconds behind Hamilton.
Ferrari struggled for pace on the Yas Marina circuit, with Charles Leclerc fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel. They were both around a half-second slower than Hamilton, who sealed his sixth title two races ago at the United States GP.
Verstappen starts on the front row, however, and both Ferraris move up one place in Sunday’s race because Bottas is demoted to the back of the grid for making an extra engine-part change.
