It’s one-two Red Bull in qualifying in Abu Dhabi, immediately canceling Brazil’s lackluster performance with a clean sweep. Verstappen and Perez capitalize with the maximum result the good things expressed since Friday in Yas Marina, putting himself in the perspective of being able to close an alternately dominated season with a solo race. First, however, it will be necessary to maintain the starting positions on a decidedly reinvigorated Ferrari after the troubles that emerged up to the third free practice session, a reverse trend compared to Mercedes which instead, after the excellent premises of the afternoon, fades away in the evening.
In Abu Dhabi the RB18s expressed the greatest superiority over the flying lap seen from Spa onwards. Moreover, in the second half of the championship, the Arab track is fourth in terms of lap speed after Monza, Spa and Suzuka, underlining the importance of aerodynamic efficiency, an area in which the single-seaters from Milton Keynes need no introduction . While the direct rivals have been undecided on the optimal compromise in terms of aerodynamics, both Verstappen and Perez mounted the most loaded wing available, without, however, that the supremacy in the long run was undermined. The central sector was where Red Bull built most of its advantage, with an interesting difference in interpretation between the two standard-bearers of the team. On several occasions the Mexican was faster in the second sector, even before benefiting from Max’s slipstream, suggesting a better interpretation of the turn 5 hairpin and the 6-7 chicane, only to then suffer the return of his teammate in the more technical third sector. In addition to the front row, the race simulations on Friday also highlighted a great pace consistency of the RB18s, who are thus increasingly on their way to conquering the last victory of the season.
Almost surprisingly, the two will line up in the second row Ferrari, capable of a great performance recovery from Friday and above all in the transition from the third free practice session to qualifying. The 10°C drop in asphalt temperatures allowed everyone to regain performance, but the evolution of the track went more towards Ferrari, as also pointed out by Mekies. Furthermore, looking at the split times, the impression is that once again the Cavallino has significantly increased the power of the power unit, thus belying a conservative approach to secure second place in the championship even with a race in defence. Both Ferrari drivers experienced similar gaps from the Red Bulls in both the second and third sectors, thus without the delay being concentrated more on the straight or in the slow-moving corners, a sign of a car in any case compromised to find the best overall performance. The Scuderia from Maranello has in fact opted for a lighter rear wing after testing the most loaded aileron on Friday, thus relatively managing to defend himself in the long reach, but losing elsewhere. The third sector technician, where the goodness of the rear axle and the mechanics of the F1-75 should have emerged, instead saw the drivers rowing with the rear, while other corrections were necessary several times also in the hairpin of turn 5. It is therefore not the best of the Ferraris is that of Yas Marina, although team officials claim that the race pace has also improved compared to Friday’s simulations. In view of the second place in the Constructors, having monopolized the second row is an important help. In fact, should Mercedes be able to keep up with Red Bull over the long haul again, Hamilton and Russell will in any case first be forced to make room for themselves between the Ferraris, losing precious time to aspire to that victory without which the a mirage appears.
Mercedes was the star of a Saturday that ran counter to the one just described for Ferrari, both in terms of performance and set-up choices. Qualifying in Abu Dhabi mirrored the 2022 season for the Brackley team, unable to equalize the leap in performance of the competition in the transition from free practice to qualifying. Net of the progress made during the year, speed over the flying lap is still not a feature of the W13, which instead tends to shine more in the race. With a view to the Grand Prix, the team with the star opted for the more loaded rear wing, after having momentarily evaluated the lighter specification in FP2 and briefly with Russell in FP3. A choice in contrast to that of Ferrari, with the hope of reaping the benefits with less rubber degradation.
In the middle of the group Lando Norris and McLaren take the pole position first of the others. Alpine, eighth with Ocon, would not seem to be the fourth force in Abu Dhabi, at least on the flying lap, but despite Alonso’s elimination in Q2, fourth place in the world championship appears to be safe. However, the attention of the public was all for Sebastian Vettel, in what could have been the last qualification of the multiple German champion. The number 5 gave Aston Martin a new qualification in Q3, who ends the season with the awareness of having clearly improved his performance in qualifying, which until September was being pointed out as one of the main weaknesses of the Silverstone team. The AMR22 will start immediately behind McLaren and Alpine who, looking at the growth expressed by Aston from Barcelona up to Abu Dhabi, will wonder if the run-up to fourth place in 2023 will not be a three-way affair. Vettel in particular was the author of a great backlash in Q1, qualifying after having extricated himself from the almost parked cars in the third sector awaiting the launch lap. An undoubtedly dangerous situation, which invites the FIA and Formula 1 to evaluate the imposition in similar situations of a minimum travel time for the various micro-sectors of the track, unless they have to give way. It would be a reverse mechanism compared to the maximum deltas imposed under the Virtual Safety Car, which perhaps deserves to be discussed even before the qualifying format for the Sprint Races.
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