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The 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying will be the season's last qualifying session. Charles Leclerc stole the march early in the season as he scored pole position in six out of the first eight races. The second half of the season has seen that performance taper off a bit, but he still has nine pole positions this year. For all the dominance that Max Verstappen has enjoyed this season, he has only six pole positions so far.
There was a surprise pole position in Brazil last week with Kevin Magnussen doing the job in mixed conditions. This time around, at the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, who is going to secure the pole position? Well, let's find out that and more in our predictions for the qualifying session on Saturday.
Disappointment of the session (Team)
AlphaTauri is not a team that will fondly look back at the start of F1's new era. It has struggled all season and is looking down the barrel at a P9 finish in the standings.
For a team that was P6 in the standings and had a podium to boast of, this is not ideal. It is in a battle for P8 with Haas at the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP and needs to outscore the latter by 3 points this weekend. Can the team get it done? By the looks of it, the answer seems to be no. The car didn't appear to have the pace to hang with other midfield teams and consequently, we might be looking at another disappointing performance from the team.
Disappointment of the session (Driver)
Nicholas Latifi is in the last race of his F1 career and while it might be a bit harsh, it's safe to say that he didn't truly belong on the F1 grid. He lacks the kind of pace you need to be an F1 driver and in that case, regardless of what kind of money you bring, you should not be racing in the sport.
Having said that, even in the last race of his career, it's safe to say that expecting the Canadian to pull something out of the bag is somewhat unfair. Expect another Nicholas Latifi-like performance from the Canadian in the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Surprise of the session (Team)
Although Aston Martin did not show much life through the sessions, the car performance was still there or thereabouts. It currently belongs to the group of cars behind the front 3 teams and the top 2 midfield teams (Alpine and McLaren). Having said that, the gap to midfield teams is not insurmountable and that is what Aston Martin will take heart from.
Hosting Sebastian Vettel in what would be the last race of his F1 career, keep an eye out for Aston Martin to secure a top-10 grid position for the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Surprise of the session (Driver)
It's not often this season that we've had high hopes for whatever Daniel Ricciardo is doing. If we look at the timesheets closely and the way the Australian appears comfortable with the McLaren (another thing we never thought we'd say this season), however, he might be on to something.
Ricciardo was questioned on Thursday if he was disappointed with the 3-place grid penalty he had for the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The McLaren driver did not seem too perturbed by it as he was going out there to have as much fun as he could on the track.
The Australian is free and has no cobwebs that he has to get rid of. He is heading into his last race weekend intending to have fun. Keep an eye out for Ricciardo as he could qualify at P7 for McLaren on Saturday.
Top 3 in 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying
There haven't been many races where we have been bullish about our predictions this season. This time around, though, we are. Max Verstappen is our pick for the pole position for the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
The Red Bull driver is quick and has shown impressive form this weekend. Moreover, the off-track stuff must have lit a fire under him. We're expecting a Verstappen domination this weekend and it starts with a pole position at Yas Marina. For P2 and P3, we're going with the two Mercedes drivers as George Russell out-qualifies Lewis Hamilton to secure another front-row start.
