Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Update and Tips – JP
Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Update and Tips
James Punt has already posted his ante-post preview, now it is time for his Abu Dhabi GP qualifying update. He is recommending just one more bet for the final qualifying session of the 2022 season, see who he is backing to take pole position below.
Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Preview
After the three practice sessions we have Red Bull back at the top. Their top speed advantage was always likely to be the key here and while Mercedes have shown good traction and speed out of the corners, they are slower than the Red Bull but similar to Ferrari who do seem to have taken a step back here.
They were slower than the McLaren of Norris, but they were likely to be looking more at race pace today, McLaren at qualifying, and Ferrari should be neck and neck with Mercedes this afternoon.
In terms of best of the rest, the battle between Alpine and McLaren is a bit confusing. Yesterday Alpine had the edge, mostly due to its straight-line speed advantage. In FP3 Norris was nearly half a second quicker than the quickest Alpine and Ricciardo was faster than both Alpines as well.
The McLaren was slow on the straights so it will be interesting to see how that pans out in qualifying. The McLaren does have good traction but where they stand on the straights will be the key to their pace.
Perez was fastest in FP3 but I expect Max to be able to turn the tables this afternoon and take his eighth pole of the season.
