F1 Abu Dhabi qualifying betting preview, free tip & where to watch

Free F1 tips for Saturday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying session from Yas Marina.

Where to watch

Sky Sports F1, 1pm Saturday

Best bet

Sebastian Vettel fastest qualifier
1pt 6-1 Hills, Sky Bet

F1 Abu Dhabi qualifying preview

Valtteri Bottas will start the final grand prix of the season from the back of the grid after an unscheduled engine change, but that didn't stop the Finn topping both Friday practice sessions.

The Mercedes driver, who will finish second in the championship to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, led Max Verstappen by half a second in the opening session and was 0.3 seconds quicker than Hamilton in the evening in Abu Dhabi.

For the last five years in Abu Dhabi a Mercedes has started from pole position and won the race and Hamilton is a top-price 6-5 to start at the front.

But the relative strengths of the leading cars have changed this season and Hamilton has not been fastest in a qualifying session at any of the last nine grands prix.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has been the king of qualifying this year with seven pole positions.

But the Monegasque racer has been out-qualified by his teammate Sebastian Vettel at three of the last four races.

Ferrari's drivers will be under scrutiny this weekend after colliding late in the race in Brazil last time, and both hit the wall in practice on Friday.

But they showed encouraging pace in the evening session with Leclerc 0.075 seconds down on Hamilton's time while Vettel was just a further 0.05seconds behind.

The German, a three-time winner in Abu Dhabi, arrived late at the circuit after the birth of his third child, but could be value for a third pole position of the season.

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