The lights of Yas Marina glowed against the desert night as the final qualifying session of the season unfolded. The air was warm at 25°C, the track slightly hotter at 29°C, and the atmosphere charged with anticipation. This was not just another Saturday—it was the last chance to shape the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the closing chapter of 2025.
For Charles Leclerc, the weekend had been a steady climb. After finishing P8 in FP3 with a 1’23”675 on Softs, he carried momentum into qualifying. In Q1, he delivered a sharp 1’23”163, switching from Mediums to Softs to secure P5. The track evolved quickly in Q2, and Charles made the most of two fresh sets of Softs, clocking a 1’22”948 for P6. By the time Q3 arrived, he was fully dialed in. With another clean run on Softs, he posted a 1’22”730, good enough for P5 and a third row start for the final race of the season.
Charles spoke with measured confidence, knowing the finale demanded everything:
“I’m satisfied with my lap in Q3 and I don’t think there was much more to extract today. I feel that our team has done a really good job in turning things around this weekend. We made some changes on the set-up between FP2 and FP3, and it paid off. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow, to see if the changes we made will also help us to get ahead in the race. We can’t get our hopes up too high, because the cars ahead are very fast. It’s up to us to maximize our result tomorrow, and I’ll do my best to take action at the start and hope to bring home a last podium for our whole team this season.”
For Lewis Hamilton, the path was more complicated. In FP3, a push through Turn 9 ended in the barriers, leaving his mechanics with a race against time to repair the car. They succeeded, but the lost track time proved costly. In Q1, Lewis fought hard, running Mediums before switching to Softs, but his best lap of 1’23”394 left him P16, just outside the cut. It was a whisker-thin margin in a session where the entire field was separated by tenths.
Lewis acknowledged the setback but kept his eyes on redemption in the finale:
“Clearly it wasn’t the result we were aiming for today. The team did a great job after FP3, in getting the car ready in time for qualifying, but a mistake in the last sector cost us. I know this track well and I’ll be aiming to deliver a more positive result for the team tomorrow.”
Team Principal Fred Vasseur reflected on the mixed fortunes of his drivers, with one on the third row and the other facing a climb from the back:
“Overall, we are happy with Charles’ result, as we had a very tough time in both Friday sessions and when it came to deciding on today’s set-up we were quite aggressive and it paid off. For sure, if practice had been better then maybe we could have fought for an even better position, but it is what it is. Now, let’s see what happens tomorrow, let’s see what our race pace is like. It’s been difficult for Lewis, because he did not drive in FP1, having given up his seat to Arthur, and then came the crash halfway through FP3 and in this kind of situation where there are only two tenths separating P4 and P18 if you miss so much running, it’s too much to recover from. You can’t produce a performance based just on FP2. Now let’s focus on how to do the best possible for our team to get the best result to end the season well.”
As the night settled over Yas Marina, the grid is set as Charles ready to attack from the third row, Lewis determined to fight back from P16. The final race of the season now awaits, and with it, the last chance to turn effort, resilience, and trust into results under the Abu Dhabi lights.