OFFICIAL GRID: Verstappen vs Leclerc up front for final Turn 1 showdown of 2023

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 03: Second placed qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari andSAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 03: Second placed qualifier Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari and Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing look on in the FIA Garage after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 03, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Old protagonists Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will face off for the final time in 2023 when they start from the front row of the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And pressuring the Red Bull and Ferrari stars into Turn 1 will be McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Mercedes' George Russell, who qualified third and fourth at Yas Marina.

Other standout performances in Q3 came from Yuki Tsunoda in P6 for AlphaTauri and Nico Hulkenberg for Haas in P8. Less impressive – and not even making the cut for the top-ten shootout – were Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who line up 11th and 16th respectively.

And at the very rear of the grid we have Logan Sargeant – the only man whose seat remains unconfirmed for 2024 – who was granted permission to start by the stewards after the Williams driver failed to set a lap time during qualifying.

Starting Grid

FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2023

Pos.DriverTime
1Max VerstappenVER1:23.445
2Charles LeclercLEC1:23.584
3Oscar PiastriPIA1:23.782
4George RussellRUS1:23.788
5Lando NorrisNOR1:23.816
6Yuki TsunodaTSU1:23.968
7Fernando AlonsoALO1:24.084
8Nico HulkenbergHUL1:24.108
9Sergio PerezPER1:24.171
10Pierre GaslyGAS1:24.548
View all standings

The 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starts at 1700 local time. Be sure to join our live coverage from 1600 here.

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