Max Verstappen leads list of most Q3 appearances in 2023 along with 2 other F1 drivers

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso have made the most Q3 qualifications in the ongoing 2023 F1 season. They have missed out on it just once in 21 sessions this term.

The Red Bull driver has been dominant throughout and showcased his prowess with the RB19 the entire season. He missed out on getting into Q3 just once, at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP, where he qualified P15 due to a mechanical issue in his car. However, he was able to rescue the weekend, finishing P2 in the main race, just behind his teammate Sergio Perez.

Charles Leclerc missed out on Q3 when he surprisingly finished P19 in his SF-23 during the 2023 F1 Spanish GP qualifying session. While Fernando Alonso experienced a similar fate during the Singapore GP weekend where he was unable to extract the maximum out of his AMR23.

Max Verstappen analyzes his Abu Dhabi GP pole position

Max Verstappen grabbed another pole position in the 2023 season at the Abu Dhabi GP qualifying session on Saturday, November 25.

He claimed the fastest lap of the evening in his first run in the Q3 session which he was unable to better in his second run. Speaking in his post-quali press conference, Max Verstappen explained:

"Yeah, I just ran out of the front tires. It was improving after the first sector and halfway through the second sector and then I don't know, it just went away from me a little bit. A bit more front locking, and then immediately the grip is gone. This track, well this track/tyre combination is extremely sensitive to that.

"And that's also what was happening to us in practice. And when you have these kinds of mini-lockups or slides, understeer, it can go away from you. I mean, it was still a good lap. I think it was still within a couple of hundredths, but it was just going away from me in the middle of the lap to the end."

Speaking about his chances of winning for the 19th time this season, he said that he had "no clue" about how his car would behave in the race due to limited running in the FP2 session:

"I have no clue how the car will behave in the race. I have not really done any long-running, so I guess we’ll find out throughout the race. But, I mean, so far, most of the races we have been quite strong. Tomorrow, I just have to ease myself into it."