Image source, Getty Images

So for just the second time this season Mercedes will not start a grand prix on pole.

It has taken them until the final race of the season but Red Bull will be at the front thanks to Max Verstappen's rapid lap.

It's all set up wonderfully for a finale tomorrow.

Join us from 11:30 GMT for full coverage of the race. Scroll down for reaction to qualifying or click here for a full report.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took a shock pole position at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull's first pole of a season dominated by Mercedes arrived as the Dutchman beat Valtteri Bottas by 0.025 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton third.

Only 0.086secs separated the top three in one of 2020's tightest sessions.

And Britain's Lando Norris produced an outstanding lap to take fourth in the McLaren, just 0.251secs off pole and ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon.

The second McLaren of Carlos Sainz starts sixth, giving the team extra hope of overhauling their 10-point gap to Racing Point in their fight for third place in the constructors' championship, on which millions of pounds of prize money hangs.

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports: "So many times this year we have sat in that third placed seat. Verstappen has just strung together a brilliant lap at the end. It is so tight. He was gutted to miss out last week, to get that pole is a phenomenal performance."

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Norris has done an absolute blinder today to get his McLaren on the second row. McLaren are just two tenths off pole. This is what we want.

There was an interesting bit of team radio before Q3 when Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made an unusual appearance to say "all you have, Valtteri" to his driver Valtteri Bottas.

Wolff was asked about it on Sky Sports.

"It is always tricky when you talk to a driver before a race or qualifying," Wolff said.

"It is something we [he and Bottas] discussed. He said 'a bit of feedback from you is always good'.

"I have never talked to drivers because from my experience it is distracting. Everyone is different. We had a good talk. He said let's talk a little bit more."

Daniel Ricciardo, who could only managed 12th: "It was a strange one. We didn't really have the pace but had it a few hours ago in practice. The track changes for sure but you expect to be a little closer to our competitors. I don't like being 12th for sure. We will try and make something happen tomorrow.

"I don't like to be grumpy pants. It is my last one [race at Renault before joining McLaren]. I wanted to do better for the team."

McLaren's Lando Norris, who took fourth, speaking to Sky Sports: "It don't think fourth is the achievement for us, two tenths off pole is an achievement for us. It was a perfect start.

"It is perfect way for a Saturday - one of the guys we need to be at back at back [Perez] and Renault slower than we were anticipating.

"Sergio won from the back last week. It is not like we can relax. We can be confident but we still have a big job to do tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso is belting that Renault around the track again. The screeches have just interrupted Sky's interview with Toto Wolff.

There were just 0.086 seconds between Max Verstappen on pole and Lewis Hamilton in third.

This is how much that pole meant to Max Verstappen and Red Bull...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

We've got a chance of a cracking Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen on pole, you would expect him to be under pressure from the Mercedes you would have thought. Can they beat him? And then there's the great chance that McLaren have given themselves of taking that fight to Racing Point.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton who took third: "Honestly I am really grateful to be back with the team and to try and close out a strong season we have had. It has been a difficult weekend getting back into rhythm even though it has only been a couple of weeks off. It just felt like I had lost the momentum.

"I gave it my all. Congrats to Max. It is a great way for him to seal the year of great performance. We will give them good run for their money tomorrow.

"It is always nice to start first but this makes it even more exiting. I am definitely excited to see how I can turn it around."

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas who took second: "We saw in practice three that Red Bull and especially Max were pretty quick. The main issue is we couldn't get the soft tyres to work properly.

"We have made some improvements. I don't think we got 100% out of the single lap.

"With the lap itself I wasn't fully happy with how everything went. The balance wasn't perfect. Small margins and tomorrow is a new day."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will start Sunday's race on pole: "Very happy with that. It was a tricky qualifying at the beginning to get laps in. In the last sector there are so many corners you can make a mistake. Luckily everything came together in that final lap.

"It is long season for everyone, a lot of races in a row. It was a good final qualifying for everyone in the team. We are very happy with it. The whole year when you behind and getting closer is a bit frustrating but very, very pleased with today.

"It seems like we have a decent top speed this weekend. Hopefully this will work out for tomorrow."

James Beswick: Wow - what a lab from Verstappen. Huge day for @McLarenF1 in the battle for 3rd as well - with an even bigger day tomorrow...

Dimantha Jayaratne: P1 for @Max33Verstappen But can we talk about what an absolute stellar job @LandoNorris did by putting his @McLarenF1 in P4

Josh Earl: Wow, I thought Hamilton had done enough for pole, 30 seconds later he's 3rd

Wfc_F1: AND LANDO ON P4 GET IN

1. Verstappen
2. Bottas
3. Hamilton
4. Norris
5. Albon
6. Sainz
7. Kvyat
8. Stroll
9. Leclerc
10. Gasly