F1 Abu Dhabi GP: 5 key takeaways from qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed his 11th pole of 2018 and broke the track record at the Yas Marina Circuit in the process earlier today. The World Champion isn't taking his foot off of the accelerator since clinching his fifth title in Mexico and could make it back-to-back wins to round off what has been a perfect season for the Brit.

Having never won a race after confirming a title in the past (something that arguably cost him back in 2015 going to 2016) he's taking no prisoners in 2018, ensuring that he and Mercedes go into 2019 on the front foot. There were plenty of stories up and down the grid, though, so who else made headlines?

#1 Mercedes with a fifth straight 1-2

Valtteri Bottas made it a 1-2 for the Mercedes team on Saturday, the fifth straight perfect qualifying session for the Silver Arrows in the UAE. No other team has ever achieved this before at the same Grand Prix, showing how dominant they've been in the hybrid era and at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Aside from Nico Rosberg's mechanical issues in 2014, the team have also finished in 1-2 formation in every race during the current engine generation, and with today's qualifying showing, this could easily be the case tomorrow too.

This result is hardly a surprise, though, Hamilton is simply the best of the current drivers on a Saturday afternoon, that's now 83 in total for his career and if he keeps going like this, he could get over a century of pole positions by the time he retires. Sebastian Vettel was their closest challenger and will be looking to jump Bottas at the start, especially with the Ferrari man starting on the clean side of the grid.

#2 Alonso Whitewashes Vandoorne

Alonso out-qualified Vandoorne for the 21st time this season on Saturday.

We all know how talented Fernando Alonso is, and the Spanish legend will be dearly missed in Formula 1 in 2019. However, despite his imminent retirement, he's lost none of his speed, out-qualifying his McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne for every race this season.

This is no mean feat, especially when this is the joint-longest season in the sport's history at 21 races. This is a real rarity in Grand Prix racing as well, the last man that drew a blank compared to his team-mate over an entire season was Nelson Piquet Jr. at Renault in 2008. Who was Piquet's team-mate that season? None other than Fernando Alonso.

He may be driving a dog of a McLaren (managing only 15th today) but Alonso is arguably driving the best he ever has. Let's hope that he gets the triple crown next year to make up for never winning a third F1 title.

#3 Gasly Very Unlucky

Toro Rosso endured a poor qualifying but Gasly could've easily made Q2.

Like Alonso, Pierre Gasly has also been having a very impressive 2018. The French youngster will drive for the Red Bull team next year in what will be just his second full season in F1.

Gasly never made it to Q2, as both Toro Rosso cars struggled with pace, but Pierre would've made the top 15 if it wasn't for some very poor luck. Gasly was seven tenths up on his personal best after the first two sectors, but lost power in the last few corners, meaning that he was eliminated and Kevin Magnussen of Haas was safe.

If he shows that pace in the race, though, Gasly could score points on Sunday. Brendon Hartley was also eliminated in Q1, doing the Kiwi no favours, especially with rumours of Dan Ticktum replacing him for 2019 beginning to intensify.

#4 Leclerc on fire in the desert

Charles Leclerc was arguably one of the best performers in qualifying again.

Another youngster that has impressed hugely in his first season has been Charles Leclerc, as he heads off to Ferrari for 2019. The Monegasque finished Q2 in 5th place, ahead of both Daniel Ricciardo and the man that he replaces at the Scuderia, Kimi Raikkonen.

At the end of the day, he finished eighth, behind only Romain Grosjean in the race for "best of the rest". He was a full 6 tenths ahead of Marcus Ericsson in Q2, underlining how consistent Leclerc has been this season and how much raw speed he has.

Sauber can steal seventh in the constructor's championship with a good result tomorrow, but they'll have to hope for a few retirements ahead of them, as the top 3 teams are just too fast for them to beat in a straight fight.

#5 Ocon Showing his Quality

Ocon impressed in his final qualifying session for Force India

With Robert Kubica confirmed to be in the second Williams seat for 2019 alongside George Russell, Esteban Ocon will almost certainly be out of a racing seat in F1 for next season. Even Mercedes Team Boss, Toto Wolff, has all but confirmed this possibility, stating that Ocon will be focussing on being the Silver Arrows' test/reserve driver and pushing for a race seat at the team for 2020, so watch out Bottas!

Lance Stroll will be going to the team next year after his father bailed Force India out of the financial doldrums before the Belgian Grand Prix.

It's extremely harsh on the Frenchman, who has been a consistent performer despite being just 22 years old. It's the age-old problem with Formula 1, too much talent for too few seats. Ocon showed his quality once again on Saturday, qualifying in 9th, five places ahead of his team-mate Sergio Perez.

With Sauber biting at the heels of Force India in the constructor's championship, the Mercedes development driver will need a good race tomorrow if he isn't to spoil what has been another excellent season for the Silverstone team.