Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix 2019 Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton Earns Pole Position

Mercedes will begin the 2019 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on pole for the sixth year in succession on Sunday after Lewis Hamilton soared to clinch the fastest time in qualifying.

Hamilton finished with a lap of one minute, 34.828 seconds to start at the front of the pack in the last race of the season.

Formula One provided a complete breakdown of the qualifying times from Yas Marina Circuit, where Hamilton secured the 88th pole position of his F1 career: 

The Mercedes driver has already won the 2019 drivers' championship, and his team has won the constructors' title, but fifth place in the latter will be decided in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Hamilton's driving partner, Valtteri Bottas, is assured to start at the back of Sunday's grid. The Finn incurred a penalty for changing his engine following an oil leak, per BBC Sport.

Red Bull's Alexander Albon impressed in Q1 and finished second to divide first-placed Hamilton and Bottas, while team-mate Max Verstappen followed closely behind in fourth.

Verstappen was five-tenths of a second off the pace at the end of the first session. The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, in particular, will have been frustrated with the Q1 results:

Vettel didn't get off to the best of starts in Q1 and spun on the final corner to dent what looked like a respectable lap, but he recovered in no time to register a lap good enough for fifth at the time:

Saturday's session could be the last time we see either of Niko Hulkenberg or Robert Kubica in Formula One qualifying, with the pair having been dropped by Renault and Williams, respectively, ahead of next season. 

George Russell finished ahead of team-mate Kubica for the 21st time this season to complete a clean sweep in qualifying, but he couldn't escape the bottom five in Q1 and made an early exit.

They were joined by Alfa Romeo pair Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, as well as Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who finished 16th following yet more engine trouble:

It didn't take Hamilton long to set a new bar at 1:35.634 on medium tyres in Q2, with Ferrari duo Leclerc and Vettel quickly improving to tuck behind the Briton at second and third on the timesheet, respectively.

Despite the fact that Bottas will start at the back on Sunday, that didn't prevent the Mercedes star strutting his stuff in Q2 and moving back into second. The Finn finished Q2 only four-hundredths of a second slower than Hamilton, while Leclerc showed a late burst to steal first in 1:35.543.

Daniil Kvyat—who almost had a collision with Grosjean earlier in qualifying—was among the next five eliminated, along with Kevin Magnussen, Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll:

Leclerc was the first Ferrari driver to lead even a phase of qualifying in Abu Dhabi this weekend, but it wasn't long before Hamilton reclaimed his advantage.

The Mercedes star finished seventh at the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday, and he'll look to improve on that result in Abu Dhabi to finish the season with a flourish.