In qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the evening of November 28, Rosberg took pole for the season finale with a 1:40.237, 0.377 seconds ahead of Hamilton. It was his sixth consecutive pole position. Räikkönen was third.
Hamilton set a 1:40.974 on supersoft tyres in Q1. Ferrari spent much of the session on soft tyres. Believing his existing time would be enough to progress, Vettel eased off and ultimately finished 16th with a 1:42.941, missing the cut by just 0.012 seconds.
Alonso could not improve his time after suffering a left-rear puncture and was 17th with a 1:43.187. Ericsson had a technical problem and finished 18th, with Stevens and Merhi 19th and 20th.
Hamilton was again fastest in Q2 with a 1:40.758, ahead of Rosberg and Pérez. Sainz reached the top ten, while Verstappen was eliminated in this session and finished 11th.
Button was 12th, Maldonado 13th and Nasr 14th. Grosjean’s Lotus developed a gearbox problem. After going out late in the session, he stopped at Turn 8 without setting a valid Q2 time and was classified 15th.
On the first runs in Q3, Hamilton lost time in the final sector and recorded a 1:41.016, while Rosberg set a 1:40.738. Hamilton improved to a 1:40.614 on his second attempt, before Rosberg reclaimed first place with a 1:40.237.
Räikkönen took third with a 1:41.051, ahead of Pérez in fourth. Ricciardo was fifth, Bottas sixth, Hülkenberg seventh, Massa eighth, Kvyat ninth and Sainz tenth.
Stevens received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled change of control electronics. Vettel’s Q1 exit left Räikkönen as the only Ferrari driver in Q3, and the German would aim to recover positions from the back in the race.
| Position | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.111 | 1:40.979 | 1:40.237 | 12 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:40.974 | 1:40.758 | 1:40.614 | 12 |
| 3 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:42.500 | 1:41.612 | 1:41.051 | 14 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:41.983 | 1:41.560 | 1:41.184 | 18 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:42.275 | 1:41.830 | 1:41.444 | 17 |
| 6 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:42.608 | 1:41.868 | 1:41.656 | 19 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:41.996 | 1:41.925 | 1:41.686 | 15 |
| 8 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:42.303 | 1:42.349 | 1:41.759 | 20 |
| 9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:42.540 | 1:42.328 | 1:41.933 | 22 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:42.911 | 1:42.482 | 1:42.708 | 17 |
| 11 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:42.889 | 1:42.521 | — | 14 |
| 12 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:42.570 | 1:42.668 | — | 12 |
| 13 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:42.929 | 1:42.807 | — | 13 |
| 14 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:42.896 | 1:43.614 | — | 14 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:42.585 | DNF | — | 11 |
| 16 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:42.941 | — | — | 7 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:43.187 | — | — | 5 |
| 18 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:43.838 | — | — | 7 |
| 19 | 28 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:46.297 | — | — | 7 |
| 20 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia | 1:47.434 | — | — | 8 |
