2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – McLAREN Qualifying Report "We're now in a strong position to fight for the Championship"

Yas Marina Circuit, Saturday, 6 December

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella, after Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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FP3 1m23.338s (+0.004s) 20 laps 2nd
Q1 1m23.178s (Soft)   6th
Q2 1m22.804s (Soft)   3rd
Q3 1m22.408s (Soft)   2nd

“We did everything we could do today, but just didn't have the pace in the car for Pole. I was happy with my lap, but I'm of course disappointed to not be on Pole for the final weekend of the year. For tomorrow, we'll focus on doing the best we can. As always, I want to win the race, so that's the goal.”

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FP3 1m23.593s (+0.259s) 17 laps 5th
Q1 1m22.605s (Soft)   1st
Q2 1m23.021s (Soft)   8th
Q3 1m22.437s (Soft)   3rd

“I felt like we maximised what we could today. I was happy with my Q3 laps; we just didn't quite have the pace to answer Max. Our long run pace looks okay, so let's see what we can do tomorrow. I'll focus on delivering the best race I can, and we'll see what happens.”

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Andrea Stella

“The final Qualifying session of the year is symbolic of the close displays we’ve seen from Lando and Oscar throughout the season. Overall, we can be reasonably happy with our performances as the drivers extracted everything from the car in what was an extremely tight session. 

“We’re now in a strong position to fight for the Championship tomorrow. We are aware that we’re not alone with very competitive drivers starting beside us on the first and second row. However, as a team, it is in our hands. We will make sure we maintain this strong position and execute our preparation at the highest level to be in condition to ensure the reward goes to a papaya driver at the Chequered Flag.”