Red Bull didn’t plan to start Abu Dhabi GP on soft tyres

Before he dominated Q3 to take pole at the Yas Marina track ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen had initially tried to get through Q2 on the mediums – the same compound his rival ran at that stage to take for the start of Sunday’s race.

But after posting a time that would have got him through to Q3 on the mediums, Verstappen locked up at Turn 1 as his run on the yellow-walled rubber continued and he quickly reported that the set had been flatspotted on the left-front.

He…