Max Verstappen secured his sixth pole position of the season for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a crash-marred qualifying session in Baku on Saturday.
Red Bull's reigning world champion edged Spaniard Carlos Sainz of Williams and New Zealander Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls in a chaotic session which saw seven crashes.
World championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed in Q3 and will start from ninth on the grid, two places behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
While the battle for pole position usually lasts an hour, this time it lasted almost two hours due to the time needed to remove the crashed cars, clean up debris scattered across the track, and repair crash barriers.
Red Bull's four-time champion made the most of treacherous damp conditions to end a near-crazy two-hour session on top.
The Dutchman clocked a best lap in one minute and 41.117 seconds to finish 0.478s ahead of Williams' Sainz and half a second clear of Racing Bulls' rookie Lawson, who secured his best qualifying result.
Sainz had made the most of his opportunity in Q3 to go quickest before Ferrari's Leclerc crashed to bring a sixth red-flag stoppage that wrecked his hopes of a fifth straight Baku pole – and deliver a mixed up grid.
Mercedes' under-pressure rookie Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were fourth and fifth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull and Norris, who qualified seventh.
Racing Bulls' second rookie Isack Hadjar was eighth ahead of Piastri and Leclerc with two-time champion Fernando Alonso taking 11th for Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton 12th for Ferrari.
It was Verstappen's first pole in Baku, his sixth of the season and the 46th of his career.
“It was difficult to get a lap together, with all the red flags,” said Verstappen.
“In the final lap, you just have to send it. I wasn't even on the best tyres. So, I am happy with the weekend.”
The chaos began in gusty conditions with light drizzle expected and rain threatening for Sunday's race.
“We nailed it today by being on the right tyres at the right time,” said Sainz. “So tomorrow I will try to stick it on the podium.”
Ferrari's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified a disappointing 12th – after the optimism of going fastest on Friday.
“I honestly thought I was going to be shooting for pole today, so it’s kind of a bit of a shock,” said Hamilton.
“I wish everyone could understand how difficult it was with the wind,” Norris added.
“I don't think we will have the pace to beat Max. I think he's just going to be fast.
“They could easily win at Monza, they could easily win again here. I'm not sure about the win, but we'll be trying to get on the podium.”
Piastri careered heavily into the barriers at turn three, walking away unhurt but causing major damage to his car.
“I'm obviously disappointed with how I performed,” Piastri said.
“There was a bit of rain around, yes. I don't know if that contributed. I don't know if I got a gust of wind. I don't know, I'm never one to blame it on something other than myself.”
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Belong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Askew%20and%20Matthew%20Gaziano%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243.5%20million%20from%20crowd%20funding%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
