Qualifying report

Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP

An eighth consecutive Mercedes front row lockout at Yas Marina

Nico Rosberg: "I need some help to take the title. It will be tough but these things happen a lot in sport."

Edited: Nov 22, 2014, 4:29 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Pole for Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Polesitter Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 Team, second place Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Pole for Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Pole for Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton secured an eighth consecutive Silver Arrows front row lockout during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Nico took his 11th pole position of the season, Lewis his 15th front row start. The result means that the Silver Arrows have taken 18 poles from 19 races in 2014, with 12 front row lockouts.

Mercedes-Benz today became the first engine supplier to claim every pole position of a Formula One season since Ford in 1969.

Drivers

No.

Qualifying 1

Qualifying 2

Qualifying 3

Nico Rosberg

6

1:41.308

P2

1:41.459

P4

1:40.480

P1

Lewis Hamilton

44

1:41.207

P1

1:40.920

P1

1:40.866

P2

Nico Rosberg: "Thanks to the engineers, the setup of my car was very much to my liking at the end. We did an amazing job together. I had two great laps in Q3 - but qualifying is only one step to having a good weekend. I hope that I can continue my form from the last race and win but, as we all know, I need some help to take the title. It will be tough but these things happen a lot in sport.

I will push flat out and keep the pressure high on Lewis to try to force him into a mistake like in Brazil and also hope that the Williams have a chance to be in between us. I already offered to pay for Valtteri to have a great wellness programme tonight so that he is fully relaxed and will put on a great performance tomorrow...

let's see what happens! I'm highly motivated and very happy about how today went for me. Finally I want to say thank you for all the support I've received out there. That's new to me and a great feeling as I've never been in the situation of a Championship fight before."

Lewis Hamilton: "I didn't have the best of laps today. Q1 and Q2 were very good and I didn't make any mistakes in Q3, it just wasn't a good lap. I really enjoyed it though and the car was fantastic. Tomorrow is when it counts; my approach will be the same as always. I had very good pace throughout practice, particularly on the long runs which gives me confidence for tomorrow. It's not my style to settle for second place but we'll need to decide how to play it."

Toto Wolff: "This evening, we achieved the first part of our mission this weekend with another front row lockout for the team. Nico did a fantastic job, like we have come to expect from him in qualifying this season. It has been a great run for him to get 11 poles this year and become the 'pole champion'. Lewis didn't put the perfect lap together but second place is still very much okay as a starting position for him.

He's totally professional and knows that tomorrow is what counts. A lot of people have been asking what we will be saying to the drivers before tomorrow's race and the answer is: nothing, it's too late. They are in the zone now and we will leave them in peace to prepare for tomorrow evening. I know they will put on a great race for us and all the Formula One fans around the world."

Paddy Lowe: "What a great final qualifying session of 2014! Congratulations to the team and the drivers on the overall performance this year: it is an incredible achievement to deliver a car that can score 12 front rows and 18 out of 19 pole positions. Looking specifically at this evening, we were very happy to secure the front row after an exciting session.

It generally ran trouble-free: Lewis didn't get the best out of the car on each of his Q3 runs but that shouldn't take anything away from the amazing laps Nico put together - effectively taking pole twice in the final session. Overall, the stage is perfectly set for a fantastic Championship showdown tomorrow.

Williams F1 Team

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Rosberg takes the fight to Hamilton with Abu Dhabi pole

Next article Bottas finished third and Massa fourth in qualifying for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi GP

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Lewis Hamilton



Ferrari set for crunch meeting as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tension reaches Brazil

Formula 1

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

2 h

Ferrari set for crunch meeting as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tension reaches Brazil



F1 Brazil GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

Formula 1

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

16 h

F1 Brazil GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch



Lewis Hamilton needs “serious talks” with himself and his team-mate

Formula 1

Mexican GP

Lewis Hamilton needs “serious talks” with himself and his team-mate

More from

Mercedes



A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?

Formula 1

A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?



Max Verstappen jokes about key difference with Kimi Antonelli at 20: “He speaks Italian!”

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mexican GP

Max Verstappen jokes about key difference with Kimi Antonelli at 20: “He speaks Italian!”



Kimi Antonelli almost had to retire in Mexico due to an oil leak

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mexican GP

Kimi Antonelli almost had to retire in Mexico due to an oil leak

Latest news



Carlos Sainz recalls Charles Leclerc battles: “We always managed to find a solution”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

42 min

Carlos Sainz recalls Charles Leclerc battles: “We always managed to find a solution”



New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development

WRC

WRC WRC

Rally Saudi Arabia

1 h

New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development



Why the 2026 WEC season has proven to be challenging for Ferrari

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

1 h

Why the 2026 WEC season has proven to be challenging for Ferrari



Marc Marquez jokes Alex would be a 'bad brother' if he risked title fight

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

1 h

Marc Marquez jokes Alex would be a 'bad brother' if he risked title fight

Feature

Discover prime content



How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How F1’s rules got to be so complex



A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?



Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Filip Cleeren

Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment



Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe