Nico Rosberg took pole position for the sixth race in a row with a stunning final lap in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton had set the provisional pole position time with his final attempt to knock Rosberg down to second place, but his team-mate responded with two hugely impressive final sectors to beat Hamilton by nearly 0.4s. It completes a remarkable turnaround from Rosberg this season, who had qualified on pole only once prior to the Japanese Grand Prix, with Hamilton doing so on 11 occasions.
Kimi Raikkonen will start from third place after he pipped Sergio Perez on his final attempt, but it was a bittersweet session from Ferrari as a strategic error saw Sebastian Vettel drop out in the first part of qualifying after the team miscalculated the cut-off time.
Perez's impressive performance will ensure he lines up on the second row ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas, with Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz rounding out the top ten.
Q2 saw the two Toro Rossos fighting it out for the final place in the last part of qualifying, with Sainz edging out Max Verstappen by less than 0.04s. Jenson Button enjoyed a more competitive qualifying than recent races to take 12th place - within 0.2s of Q3, ahead of Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Nasr.
Romain Grosjean had a frustrating session, with a technical issue confining him to the pits until the closing moments. Though Grosjean was sent out with just enough time to start a lap - prompting the team to tell him to drive flat out to the line - he promptly stopped on track on the long straight after Turn 7.
Vettel was the shock casualty of Q1 as he inexplicably backed off on his final lap having switched to supersoft tyres, cruising through the middle sector while drivers around him improved. Although Fernando Alonso had to pit due to a puncture on his final lap, Vettel was knocked out by late improvements from Grosjean and Nasr.
With Alonso dropping out in 17th place having been set to progress, Marcus Ericsson was also eliminated after his team told him he had to pit due to a problem with his Sauber, preventing him from completing his final lap. Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi will make up the back row of the grid, with Stevens beating his Manor team-mate by over 1.1s.
AS IT HAPPENED: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying
Between the lines at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.111 | 1:40.979 | 1:40.237 |
| 02 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:40.974 | 1:40.758 | 1:40.614 |
| 03 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:42.500 | 1:41.612 | 1:41.051 |
| 04 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:41.983 | 1:41.560 | 1:41.184 |
| 05 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:42.275 | 1:41.830 | 1:41.444 |
| 06 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:42.608 | 1:41.868 | 1:41.656 |
| 07 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:42.540 | 1:42.328 | 1:41.686 |
| 08 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:42.303 | 1:42.349 | 1:41.759 |
| 09 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:41.996 | 1:41.925 | 1:41.933 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:42.911 | 1:42.482 | 1:42.708 |
| 11 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:42.889 | 1:42.521 | |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:42.570 | 1:42.668 | |
| 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:42.929 | 1:42.807 | |
| 14 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:42.893 | 1:43.614 | |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:42.585 | ||
| 16 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:42.941 | ||
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:43.187 | ||
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:43.838 | ||
| 19 | Will Stevens | Manor | 1:46.297 | ||
| 20 | Roberto Merhi | Manor | 1:47.434 |
