Max Verstappen claims crucial pole for Abu Dhabi finale

Four-time defending Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen captured the pole position for Sunday's title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen continued his late-season surge by recording the fastest qualifying time on Saturday, 0.201 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri was 0.029 seconds behind Norris, his McLaren teammate, and will start third.

Norris leads the F1 drivers' standings with 408 points, followed by Red Bull Racing's Verstappen (396) and Piastri (392).

Verstappen climbed into position to claim a fifth world championship with back-to-back victories in Las Vegas (Nov. 22) and at Qatar last Sunday.

"We'll find out tomorrow, don't we? Let's see what we can do," the 28-year-old Dutchman said, per ESPN. "Of course I'll try to win the race, but also in the back of my mind, we want to try and score a lot of points and still try and win the championship. We need a bit of luck from what is happening behind us."

Norris, 26, of England, said he was disappointed not to take the pole.

"It's tough. Max did a good job, so congrats to him. We did everything we could," Norris said. "I thought my lap was pretty good, I was pretty happy. Of course, disappointed to not be on pole for the final weekend; we just weren't fast enough today. We'll have to try and do it tomorrow."

Mercedes' George Russell qualified fourth and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth.

--Field Level Media