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The drought on Saturdays in the last nine races had left Lewis Hamilton with his worst statistic since his arrival in Mercedes. In Abu Dhabi, the scene of the last chapter of the World Cup, the hexamcampeón could not afford another disappointment in these days where the German team wants to confirm its continuity on the grid from 2021. Hamilton's pole in Yas Marina, fifth of the This season coincided with another Ferrari freak, unable to coordinate Sebastian Vettel with Charles Leclerc so that the Monegasque marked his time in the last attempt of Q3.

The last meters of the preparation lap were lethal for Leclerc, who saw his options voided at the red traffic light. The derision was even greater for the team of Mattia Binotto, since Vettel, who had crossed with many troubles before the red light came on, could not even improve his chrono, fifth of the table, 56 hundredths slower than that of Hamilton (1: 34,779).

The very slow last sector of Ferrari drivers (58 seconds) in the aforementioned 'outlap' led to Leclerc disaster, visibly upset when he got out of the car. "It was a shame, but I don't think that 'Seb' has slowed me down. The 'pole' was far from our reach, but we have lost the opportunity of being able to stay ahead of Max Verstappen," said the Monegasque, just eight hundredths of the leader of Red Bull.

Norris, ahead of Sainz

"I had a limit of four seconds and very little temperature on the tires. The problem is that there were too many cars waiting in line," Vettel explained, with a crooked gesture as well.

The only good news for Ferrari came with the sanction of Valtteri Bottas, relegated to the last place of the grid after the change of its engine. Thus, Verstappen will start second, with Leclerc third and Vettel fourth. From the seventh position, McLaren de Lando Norris, two ahead of Carlos Sainz.

The Spaniard was harmed by traffic, both at the exit of the pits, and in the continuous fights between Hamilton and Verstappen in Q3. "I don't know what they do in the 'outlaps', who start fighting like crazy," Sainz warned of the king of the category and the call to succeed him.

Kvyat and Grosjean

"It should not be there, but I could not heat the front tire; that has conditioned me," said the McLaren leader, who on Sunday will keep a very tight duel against Pierre Gasly in a fight for sixth place in the World Cup. Both, with 95 points, should watch closely Alexander Albon, who is still 11 away.

The other peliagudo episode prior to Q3 was the one starring Daniil Kvyat, whose insecure reinstatement from Toro Rosso's garage almost caused Romain Grosjean a serious destruction. Another scare for the French veteran of Haas, who on Friday was hurt by a too optimistic attempt by Bottas inside the curve 11.

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