Lewis Hamilton takes pole in Abu Dhabi as F1 dominance continues in final Grand Prix of the season
LEWIS HAMILTON took pole position for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
The Brit was untroubled by his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who will start at the back of the grid due to engine penalties.
It means Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be bumped up from third to second on the grid while Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's race in third place.
It was Hamilton's first pole since the German GP.
He said: "It has been such a long slog getting the pole position but we kept our heads down and I focused on trying to do my job.
"Yesterday I was a little bit wobbly but I managed to dial it in. We never give up. There is always room to improve and this year, there has been a lot of growth.
"Both within me and the team, it is just a case of looking for those small milliseconds."
Sebastian Vettel will start in fourth place ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon and Lando Norris will line up in sixth.
Toro Rosso's hero in Brazil, Pierre Gasly, who was second in Brazil, could only qualify in 11th place.
Meanwhile, Brit George Russell out-qualified his teammate, Robert Kubica for the 21st time this season.
Russell has outclassed the experienced Pole on Saturdays but Kubica is still responsible for the team's solitary point this season, finishing 10th in Germany.