F1 live: Lewis Hamilton on pole for season finale in Abu Dhabi

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Front five: 1. Hamilton 2. Verstappen 3. Leclerc 4. Vettel 5. Albon

34/55 Was there a touch there? Leclerc and Verstappen are battling it out. The Dutchman takes back his second spot but is complaining again about his handbrake. He’s told: “You’re going to have to live with it. You’re quick enough.” That’s that then. Bottas now with the fastest lap. Quietly Albon now into 5th.

30/55 Hamilton posts the fastest lap. Verstappen is worried about his handbrake. He’s told to keep calm, which I’m sure will help him do just that. “After the pit stop, something happened,” he then adds. He isn’t happy. Would be a shame if the race was to slip away from him here. Leclerc takes second.

27/55 Verstappen finally pits on the medium. It’s smooth. Hamilton also pits. Probably taken the mediums as far as he could. He comes out in the lead still though, such was the size of the gap.

25/55 Just look at Bottas! Contact between Kubica and Giovinazzi, which is under investigation. Might be Kubica’s last race today. What a driver.

24/55 Hamilton is worried he’ll have to pit and change the tires if the safety car comes out. Magnussen, in 8th, pits. Hamilton is 13s clear of Verstappen, and 16 further clear of Leclerc. It’s not that close. 

20/55 Bottas has to hold off Vettel! This really is a battle. Hülkenberg is going to be taken out here, and in anticipation of that he pits. Vettel moves into fifth. Albon is still hanging on to that chasing group in 6th. 

18/55 Hamilton is told Mercedes will keep extending their lead at the front. His race to lose now. Vettel is closing the gap on Bottas in 5th. That’s a battle to keep an eye on. Verstappen says he can keep going on these tires, and the Red Bull driver is in 2nd, but he’s 11s behind now.

16/55 Leclerc pits after Vettel pits! Both pits take a lot longer than they should. Vettel comes out in 6th, but Leclerc now into 3rd – and he’s just posted the fastest lap. Hülkenberg is up into 4th, but look at Bottas go! He’s into 5th!

12/55 The Renaults are hunting down Sainz. Norris is back into 15th after a pit stop. Costly! In truth though, Bottas is closing in on the Renaults. Everyone needs to hurry up.

10/55 “You need to push as had as you can,” Leclerc is told. Not as easy as it looks though.

8/55 Bottas is up to 11th now. He’s really moving. Not as much Hamilton though, who is now 4.3s ahead of Leclerc.

5/55 Hamilton just posted the fastest lap. Bottas is now up to 14th. Albon and Norris are looking like they’ll finish strong.

3/55 Biggest winner there is Magnussen, who jumped 5 spots. Top work from the Dane! Bottas is also already into 15th. The speed and skill of the Finn. Gasly is in in the pit after an incident on the first corner. The front five have pulled away and all have a similar gap to one another.

Lap 1/55 Go! Go! Go! The final race of the 2019 season is underway. Hamilton slow to start but holds off Verstappen. Leclerc uses his first bit of space to take Verstappen though, and then Vettel tries his luck but isn’t as successful. The two McLaren’s bump each other but on we go.

— Interesting note today: Leclerc and Ferrari are facing a post-race investigation after a potential breach of technical rules. They seem to have declared a different amount of fuel to the actual amount. Interesting. Leclerc could have a day of racing for nothing.

— It’s nearly go time! For the last time this season. Soft tires are the fastest today. Hamilton and Verstappen take the front row and the Ferraris have the second row. Norris and Albon, the two rookies, are behind them. Bottas starts at the back after taking two new engines this weekend. Should be plenty of fun.

— Nico Hülkenberg is disconnecting from racing for a while after this season. In tribute, his Renault team have all worn a wig of his hair. Pretty much tribute to one of racing’s good guys. 

— There’s also the future of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. These words from F1 present Will Buxton suggest this might be the end of his career. Might it be? Surely not… It has been quite the tough season for the German though.

— Good afternoon! Less than 40 minutes until lights out in the final race of the 2019 season. Yes Hamilton is champion and Mercedes have the constructors championship all tied up, but there is much to race for today. Speed equals money in this race and for those teams hoping to make a jump in the middle of the constructors championship today the difference could be an extra three or eight million dollars to work with over the off season. Not a small amount.

— “I think it’s the first compliment I’ve had from Ferrari in 13 years… Thank you. I’ll take it,” Hamilton said, laughing, when responding to Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto’s that the Briton was an outstanding driver. 

“It’s taken all these years for them to recognize me. I’m grateful… It’s positive. I think it’s never a waste of time to ever be nice to someone.”

Hamilton is one of several drivers whose contracts expire at the end of next year.

— Here’s the full classification at the end of qualifying. We see you Lando Norris and Alexander Albon!

— Special words from a special driver. There’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest ever drivers. The question now is, can he be the best ever?

— HAMILTON TAKES POLE! Lewis Hamilton takes pole ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, who sneaks in ahead of Max Verstappen right at the end. However, Verstappen will start on the first row and Bottas will be last after the Mercedes’ man made an engine change. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were fourth and fifth
respectively. This was Hamilton’s first pole since the German GP back in July.

— Qualifying is almost done and it looks like Hamilton is going to stay the man to beat…

— Good afternoon! Tomorrow, Lewis Hamilton and co. will be racing around the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. This is one of the busier courses in the season, but sadly for the competition it comes too late to change anything at the top this season. Hamilton is aleady champion, having been crowned in the US.For Ferrari, the season got worse the last time out in Brazil when Vettel and Leclerc collide with one another.It has been quite the campaign, and hopefully there’s more excitement to come in Abu Dhabi.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/f1-live-lewis-hamilton-on-pole-for-season-finale-in-abu-dhabi/a-51482846?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf