2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Full starting lineup for the final race this year

The qualifying for the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix came to an end as world champion Max Verstappen took his 12th pole position of the season. He was ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri's McLaren.

It was quite a competitive evening at the ever-evolving Yas Marina circuit as drivers went head-to-head one last time this season for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying.

Max Verstappen, who didn't improve on his final lap, grabbed pole from a 0.139s gap to Charles Leclerc. The situation could have been different if Lando Norris had not had a brief moment of oversteer at the exit of turn 13.

Because of this, he could only qualify for fifth place while his teammate took third. It was then George Russell who took the fourth place. Here is the complete starting grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Position	Driver	Team
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
2	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari
3	Oscar Piastri	McLaren
4	George Russell	Mercedes
5	Lando Norris	McLaren
6	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri
7	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas
9	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing
10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
12	Esteban Ocon	Alpine
13	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin
14	Alex Albon	Williams
15	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri
16	Carlos Sainz	Scuderia Ferrari
17	Kevin Magnussen	Haas
18	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo
19	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo
20	Logan Sargeant	Williams

A surprise performance from Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg saw them get through to Q3 and take P6 and P8, respectively. While Sergio Perez had his final lap time deleted and will be starting only P9, Fernando Alonso showed some pace in the Aston Martin to bring it up to P7.

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Hot takes of the 2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

While Red Bull has taken the world championship and sealed themselves at the top of the standings this season, the second place is still up for grabs. There's an intense battle going on for it.

Mercedes and Ferrari have shared a rollercoaster of a season together. The performance of both teams has been up and down throughout 2023.

Heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, there is only a four-point gap between the two. With Carlos Sainz starting P16 (blamed traffic for the low starting position) and Lewis Hamilton starting P11 (blamed the car), it will be an interesting battle to watch.

Mercedes and Ferrari to battle for the second place in the final race of the season (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images for Heineken)

The midfield will likely remain the same, although there is a small possibility for Aston Martin to get ahead of McLaren for fourth place. The latter has had a fabulous season in the second half. There is only an 11-point gap, but with both McLarens within the top five and one of the Aston Martins down at P13, it seems hard.

The bottom of the grid will have a competition as well. AlphaTauri, who were at the bottom of the standings for a very long time earlier, have brought themselves up to eighth place.

There is a seven-point gap between them and Williams, who has headed up to seventh place. The data showed that Daniel Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri was much faster on the corners of the Yas Marina circuit compared to the Williams of Alex Albon. So it would definitely be interesting to watch who ends up ahead.