F1 qualifying LIVE as Hamilton and Verstappen fight for Abu Dhabi pole

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The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the final F1 race for several months, but there is still plenty for drivers to compete for up and down the grid this weekend. Sergio Perez will be hoping to help Red Bull complete a clean sweep for 2022 by finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship.

Lewis Hamilton is also aiming to avoid his worst ever season in F1 by staying ahead of Carlos Sainz in the standings. And the Brit is in the last chance saloon to keep his record of winning at least one race every season he’s competed in F1.

There’s still plenty up for grabs in the Constructors’ Championship with Mercedes and Ferrari battling for second. Alpine and McLaren are separated by just 19 points while Alfa Romeo will be pushing to stay ahead of Aston Martin in the standings.

Sebastian Vettel will be hoping for a strong outing in his final Grand Prix before retirement too. Stay tuned on Express Sport for live updates throughout qualifying and what Sunday’s grid will look like.

KEY EVENTS

Hamilton avoids penalty

No punishment for Lewis Hamilton from his incident in FP3 and the race stewards have used Max Verstappen as an example as to why the Mercedes driver escaped punishment.

“No dispute that Car 44 passed Car 20 directly after the track was placed in a Red Flag condition. (Hamilton) was on a fast lap, he saw the Red Light, immediately completely lifted the throttle and applied the brakes while checking his mirrors for cars following in close proximity.

“He said he had, in doing so, gone past Car 20. Stewards noted precedent in relation to the 2021 Dutch GP (Verstappen), where no action was taken against the driver under similar but not identical circumstances

“Conclusion that the driver of Car 44 took every reasonable action to comply with the regulations in that he immediately reduced speed in a safe manner at the earliest opportunity upon the first indication of the red light.”

Good afternoon

Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s live blog for Saturday’s qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Nothing will match the drama from last year’s title-deciding race between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.

But there’s still plenty of stories to follow throughout the weekend, starting with today’s qualifying session.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the session.

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