F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying prediction, free tip & where to watch

Free F1 tips, best bets and analysis for the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying from the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports F1, 1pm Saturday

Best bet

Lewis Hamilton fastest qualifier
2pts 5-6 Hills

Preview

World champion Lewis Hamilton has reclaimed his championship-winning Mercedes from supersub George Russell in Abu Dhabi and he can top the times in the final qualifying session of the 2020 season.

Friday's two practice sessions were headed by the only two other drivers who can plausibly go fastest over a single lap - Max Verstappen in the morning and Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas in the afternoon - but the British driver had a faster lap deleted for a marginal track-limits infringement and has a happy habit of turning up the wick when it matters most in qualifiying.

Hamilton fans will have been relieved to see no apparent rust after he was forced to isolate for ten days in Bahrain and miss the Sakhir Grand Prix there after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix the week before.

He was soon on the pace and will have more of a point to prove than might nornally have been the case given he clinched his seventh world title in Turkey with three races to spare.

Bottas will also be super-motivated with a groundswell of opinion calling for him to be replaced by Russell in the second Mercedes next season, rather than 2022 when his contract runs out. He took pole at this track in 2017 but Hamilton was fastest in 2016 and in the last two seasons.

Verstappen's Red Bull looks further off the pace of the team champions this week than in the Bahrain events and Hamilton should be able to re-establish his status as top dog.

Sakhir race winner Sergio Perez must start from the back of the grid (likely 19th as Kevin Magnussen has a similar penalty) for exceeding the number of power unit parts permitted in the season.

Charles Leclerc will have a three-place grid penalty for his first-lap collision with Perez last week.

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