Rosberg lauds Verstappen’s ‘magical’ pole | Max staying focused

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen after the Dutchman sealed a potentially crucial pole for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Decider in the Desert.

Sky F1’s Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, meanwhile said “I think we’re seeing greatness” after witnessing Verstappen’s pole-winning lap.

With Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton level on points heading into the championship decider, both men knew how crucial qualifying could prove to be in determining who emerges victorious from this epic season.

Hamilton had been looking formidable in the UAE, but Verstappen, with the help of team-mate Sergio Perez’s tow, would produce the goods under the most severe pressure in Q3 to go over three tenths of a second clear of his title rival.

That left Horner in awe as he told Sky Sports F1: “We discussed the slipstream this morning. We lowered the downforce, it was the only way of matching these guys on the straights.

“After Q1, I thought those kind of times Lewis was knocking in, we can’t do that. Q2 came more towards us.

“Both runs in Q3 were exceptional and of course that tow, Sergio working with his team-mate to give him that tow down the two straights was absolutely perfect teamwork today.

“That’s one of Max’s best laps of the year.”

One man who knows what it’s like to face Hamilton in a winner-takes-all contest is Nico Rosberg, who pipped his Mercedes team-mate to the title in 2016.

The German was full of admiration for Verstappen after his magnificent pole lap.

“This guy just delivered something magical. That’s it. It just comes down to that,” he said.

Verstappen will start the race on the soft tyres after locking his brakes and damaging one of his medium tyres in Q2.

Rosberg believes that could be beneficial to Hamilton’s chances of winning a record eighth world title, stating: “As Max said, the interesting thing is he didn’t want to be on the soft for tomorrow. That’s what keeps it full of suspense for tomorrow.

“The race is on. Having Lewis behind on a tyre that’s better over a certain stint is not the thing you want to have when you’re fighting for a championship.

“The pressure on Verstappen in the race in the first stint tomorrow, it’s going to be good.”

Horner isn’t too concerned though, arguing: “We’re not overly upset starting on the softs.

“The medium is a bit more robust but the degradation in the race is going to be very interesting to see how that plays out. Track position is crucial.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, is pleased to have claimed his 10th pole position of the season, but knows there is much work to be done before he can celebrate a maiden world title.

“This is of course what we wanted but never easy with their form from the last few races,” the 24-year-old commented.

“Now I’m just looking forward to tomorrow because that’s the most important.

“I felt good on both tyres. Naturally now in the evening it’s a bit cooler so it should be a bit easier for the soft tyres, but we’ll see tomorrow.

“It’s very important to have a good start and from there onwards we just try to do our race to the very best, then we’ll see where we end up.”

Hamilton was magnanimous after finishing a distant second and paid credit to his title rival: “Max did a great lap today.

“We just couldn’t compete with that time at the end there. It was looking really strong through practice.

“That was a fantastic lap from him. We’re in a good position with our tyres for tomorrow and I hope we can have a good race.”

The race is live on Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Main Event and, making them available for all Sky TV customers, Sky Showcase too.

Sky Sports F1’s live Sunday schedule

8.50am: F2 Feature Race Live

11.30am: Abu Dhabi GP: Grand Prix Sunday Live

1pm: THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX LIVE

3pm: Abu Dhabi GP: Chequered Flag Live

4.30pm: Ted’s Notebook Live

5.30pm: Abu Dhabi GP highlights