Max Verstappen led Sergio Perez as Red Bull sealed a one-two in Qualifying; Verstappen gave Perez the drag in Q3 to help his team-mate beat Charles Leclerc for second; Watch the Abu Dhabi GP live on Sky Sports F1 at 1pm on Sunday, with coverage from 11.30am.
Last Updated: 19/11/22 6:09pm
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It’s one-two for Red Bull when Max Verstappen takes the pole in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sergio Perez looks second.
It’s one-two for Red Bull when Max Verstappen takes the pole in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sergio Perez looks second.
Sergio Perez praised team-mate Max Verstappen for doing a “good job” supporting him in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying, as he put a difficult week behind them to seal a Red Bull one-two.
Perez criticized world champion Verstappen last week in Brazil when his teammate refused to allow him to take sixth place in the final round of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to help the Mexican in his battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second in the race. driver competition.
Verstappen insisted he had his “reasons” for turning down the team’s request but refused to share them publicly, insisting after the race that the matter had been resolved and he would do everything he could to help Perez at the end of the season. Yas Marina Circuit.
The Dutchman lived up to his promise on Saturday when he delivered a superb straight in the final stages of Qualifying that helped Perez leapfrog Leclerc for the second time, joining Verstappen on the front row of the pack.
“Max did a good job for me again, we worked together as a team strongly in the last lap,” said Perez, who goes into Sunday’s level on points with Leclerc.
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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok and Sergio Perez take a closer look at Perez’s final Q3 time
Perez looked like he could hold his own after beating Verstappen in the final and the first two sessions of Qualifying, but it was the reigning world champion who managed to make it when it mattered most in Q3.
“It’s a good place to start,” Perez added. “I didn’t make the final lap in Q3, especially the first run was not good, so we were a little behind. It’s good to close the front for tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow, which is the most important day. I think it will be very interesting, because of the power of Ferrari.”
Verstappen ‘happy’ to help Perez
Verstappen was quick to say in his post-training interview that he was happy to help his teammate.
“I’m very happy that both cars are on the front row,” he said. “Because we want to win the competition, but we also want to finish second with Checo in the competition, so that is a good start tomorrow.”
“We are all on the same page. We all want the same, we want to win for sure but we want to make sure that Checo is in front of Charles tomorrow.”
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Max Verstappen on pole is joined by Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc to discuss qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Verstappen, who is aiming for a 15th victory in Sunday’s race, had a strong performance in Q3 despite suffering an illness in Q2 and a scare early in the final 12 minutes.
“It was a little bit of up-and-down qualifying,” he said. “It started well
“Q2 was a bit confusing. I don’t know why but on those tires I couldn’t connect.
“But then in Q3 everything felt strange. We were a bit scared, the car was switched off before the race, so we had to restart everything. Then we went out and both legs were fine.”
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says a chapter is closed at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen refused to let Sergio Perez overtake him.
Speaking ahead of Qualifying, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted he would not allow the “glitch” to turn into a bittersweet season.
“We’re not going to let the problem in Brazil hurt this year or this event,” Horner said.
“This merger has done more than what we’ve had, it’s a merger that’s going to be around for the next few years and they’ve worked it out, they’re fine with it, we’re fine with it, the training. we’ve learned, we’re going to move on.”
Leclerc: I can work together with Sainz
Leclerc remained hopeful after he managed to challenge Perez on Sunday, with Ferrari finding the change it needed in the cold overnight conditions they battled last time out.
“It was (the best we could hope for),” Leclerc said. “The second stage I think we paid a little bit the price of being alone on the track. We had no one in front so no traction, so slow in the straights.
“But to be honest, third place is a good start for tomorrow, and we hope we can pass Checo in the first few meters and keep the place.
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Charles Leclerc will look to overtake Sergio Perez at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to take second place in the Drivers’ standings.
“We will try hard to win, we want to finish this year well, but the Red Bulls are very strong on Sunday.”
Leclerc was denied help from team-mate Carlos Sainz in the tough conditions in Brazil, and will be hoping for help on Sunday.
“I hope we can work together with Carlos again, I have no doubts about that,” he added.
“We will try to increase the results of the team.”
