Following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying, Graham Caygill provides the times and grid positions for Sunday’s race accompanied by a short summary for each driver.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP) - 1:40.237
The German’s sixth successive pole position; he now has a strong chance to win three races in a row for the first time in his F1 career.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP) - 1:40.614
The world champion was again beaten by his teammate in qualifying but can take heart from the fact he won from second on the grid 12 months ago.
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 1:41.051
Called his season “average” on Thursday but the Finn is in a good position to finish the year on a high today as he targets a third podium of 2015.
Sergio Perez (Force India) - 1:41.084
The Mexican produced his best qualifying performance of the season and will hope to pick up a second podium in five races this afternoon.
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) - 1:41.444
A return to form after Brazil struggles, but with the Renault engine lacking horsepower he will need a good strategy to fight for a top-three spot.
Valtteri Bottas (Williams) - 1:41.656
Struggled for speed in practice, but raised his game when it mattered. Will still be disappointed at a track where Williams expected to shine.
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) - 1:41.686
Seventh is a good result for Hulkenberg, but the German will have been horrified to be out-paced by teammate Perez in the same equipment.
Felipe Massa (Williams) - 1:41.759
The Brazilian’s hopes of a repeat of last year’s second-place result appear unlikely, meaning that a push to be in the top six is as much as can be hoped for.
Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1:41.933
An electrical issue in the final practice limited his running, and he could not find the speed to get close to teammate Ricciardo.
Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) - 1:42.708
The Spaniard can be satisfied with getting one over on his teammate Max Verstappen and will expect to finish in the points for an eighth time.
Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) - 1:42.521
The Dutchman, 18, had a rare off day in the final race of his rookie F1 season. He will still expect to score points from his starting position.
Jenson Button (McLaren) - 1:42.668
The lack of power with the Honda engines McLaren use is well documented, so to be just 0.2 seconds from the top 10 is a strong performance.
Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) - 1:42.807
The Venezuelan goes well here, as his run to fifth in 2012 showed, so he will be disappointed to be starting so far back on the grid today.
Felipe Nasr (Sauber) - 1:43.614
A good effort by the Brazilian. Well ahead of teammate Marcus Ericsson and dragged all he could from the limited means of the Sauber package.
Romain Grosjean (Lotus) - No time
His hopes of a successful end to life at Lotus were dealt a blow when a mechanical problem sidelined him in second qualifying before he set a time.
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) - 1:42.941
The four-time world champion and Ferrari misjudged the pace of their rivals as his only lap time in the first part of qualifying was not quick enough.
Fernando Alonso (McLaren) - 1:43.187
It has been a miserable season for the double world champion. A puncture ruined his hopes of progressing from the first qualifying session.
Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) - 1:43.838
The Swede struggled for speed throughout practice, and a technical problem prevented him from improving his lap time on his last attempt.
Roberto Merhi (Manor Marussia) - 1:47.434
The Spaniard, back in the car due to Alexander Rossi’s GP2 commitments, has struggled to match teammate Will Stevens on pace all weekend.
Will Stevens (Manor Marussia) - 1:46.297
More than a second quicker than Merhi but will start behind him after a five-place grid penalty due to a part on his car needing to be changed.
