2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Qualifying "A very good result from the final qualifying session of the MCL35M"
Yas Marina Circuit, Saturday 11 December
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and Team Principal Andreas Seidl after Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
LANDO NORRIS, #4
| FP3 | 1m24.106s (+0.832s) | 17 laps | 5th |
| Q1 | 1m23.553s (Softs) | 8th | |
| Q2 | 1m23.256s (Softs) | 7th | |
| Q3 | 1m22.931s (Softs) | 3rd |
"I'm very happy. I didn’t expect to be P3 today, but the car felt in a good position going into qualifying and I also felt like I did a very good lap when I needed to in my second run in Q3. Everything came together and I gave myself the best position for tomorrow to score some good points. So, I'm excited and looking forward to the race, which is going to be tough – but we’ll give it our best.”
DANIEL RICCIARDO, #3
| FP3 | 1m24.733s (+1.459s) | 16 laps | 9th |
| Q1 | 1m23.829s (Softs) | 11th | |
| Q2 | 1m23.448s (Softs) | 10th | |
| Q3 | 1m23.409s (Softs) | 10th |
“It was a tricky session. The new tyre was my biggest problem, I just wasn’t able to take another step with it. I’ve got to look into whether there’s something I can do differently to get the tyre in the right window. It’s on me to try to figure that out.
“Otherwise, we’ll try to do something from where we start tomorrow. Hopefully, there’s a few things happening that we can make the most of. Lando was strong, I’m really happy for him in third. Obviously, we’d love to be further up there with him, but I just didn’t have it today.”
McLAREN App Download our official app for exclusive behind the scenes access to the team
ANDREAS SEIDL, Team Principal
“A very good result from the final qualifying session of the MCL35M at the end of a long season. Lando pulled out a sensational final lap to take P3 – he’ll have a front row seat for tomorrow’s championship battle between Lewis and Max. Unfortunately, on Daniel’s side, he couldn’t extract the maximum from the new Soft tyre with his final attempt, which meant P10 for him.”
“We’re looking forward to finishing the season on a high. We want to score good points, let’s go for it.”
Down to the wire
The story of the dramatic 1974 Formula 1 title decider
2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice
McLaren Formula 1 – 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice report
McLAREN Racing announces Immersive Labs as Official Partner
"We look forward to this partnership accelerating the human element of our cyber security"
Everything you need to know for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Race preview for the 2021 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hear from Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo and Andreas Seidl.
Sign up now
McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan loyalty programme, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programmes in motorsport.
Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.