Max Verstappen delivered when it mattered most. Again. The Dutchman smashed McLaren’s title hopes with a stunning pole position for Abu Dhabi’s season finale, crushing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by two-tenths when the pressure was at its absolute peak.
Here’s the thing about Abu Dhabi. The last ten races here were won from pole position. Every single one. So whilst Norris can mathematically win the championship from second on the grid, he’ll have to watch Verstappen disappear into the distance whilst hoping Oscar Piastri doesn’t fancy winning himself. Brilliant situation to be in when you’ve led the championship for weeks, isn’t it?
Verstappen’s final lap was clinical. Purple, purple, green for a 1:22.207 that left both McLarens scrambling. He called it “insane” over the radio, and for once the hyperbole was justified. With help from Yuki Tsunoda’s perfectly timed slipstream and fresh tyres in Q3 whilst the McLarens ran scrubbed rubber, Red Bull executed their strategy flawlessly.
When Your Teammate Becomes Your Personal Tow Truck
Credit where it’s due: Red Bull played the team game perfectly. Tsunoda sacrificed his first Q3 run to give Verstappen a “really good tow” down the main straight. The Japanese driver didn’t even set a time on that attempt, purely sent out to drag his teammate through the air.
That tow contributed to Verstappen’s opening 1:22.295, which already put him three-tenths clear of the McLarens. Then he followed it up with an even faster effort because apparently dominating once wasn’t quite enough. The man’s trying to win his fifth consecutive championship whilst trailing by 12 points. No pressure there, obviously.
“In Q2 we stayed on used tyres and that went well. Then in Q3, because the track keeps improving, you know you can push more. We found more lap time and I’m incredibly happy to be on pole.” – Max Verstappen
Lovely summary from someone who’s just put both McLarens on notice. Verstappen sounded almost casual about the whole thing, like he’d just popped down to the shops rather than delivered one of the most crucial qualifying laps of his career.
Norris Beats Piastri (By Three Hundredths)
The good news for Norris? He outqualified his teammate by 0.029 seconds, which means he’ll win the title if the top three finish where they start. The bad news? He’s starting behind someone who’s won seven races this year and is currently mounting one of the great championship comebacks.
Norris will become champion if he finishes on the podium regardless of what Verstappen does. Sounds simple enough until you remember that McLaren hasn’t even discussed team orders with their drivers. Because nothing says “championship-winning mentality” quite like refusing to prioritise one driver over another when the title’s on the line.
Piastri sits 16 points behind Norris, mathematically alive but realistically needing a miracle. He’d have to win whilst Norris finishes sixth or lower. Which creates the delightful scenario where Oscar could theoretically slow the pace to apply pressure on Lando whilst inadvertently helping Verstappen close the gap. Remember Hamilton backing Rosberg into traffic in 2016? That could absolutely happen again.
The Tyre Strategy That Gave Red Bull The Edge
Here’s where Red Bull’s strategic brilliance comes into play. Verstappen carried an extra set of soft tyres into Q3 by running used rubber in Q2. McLaren didn’t. Which meant the Dutchman had fresh Pirellis for both his Q3 attempts whilst Norris and Piastri made do with scrubbed tyres.
That’s proper strategic thinking. The kind of meticulous planning that wins championships. Compare that to McLaren’s Qatar disaster where they left both cars out under safety car conditions whilst every other team pitted. One operation thinks three steps ahead. The other can’t even execute the obvious decision.
Hamilton’s Horror Show Continues
Lewis Hamilton suffered his third consecutive Q1 elimination, which would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic. The seven-time champion finished 16th after a minor error at Turn 12 cost him the lap time he needed to advance. He radioed his race engineer Ricciardo Adami with a simple: “Every time, I’m so sorry.”
That’s the voice of someone who’s genuinely broken. Hamilton didn’t even know Verstappen won in Qatar because he’s so far off the pace he’s become irrelevant. Now he’s qualifying behind both Alpines in machinery that should be fighting for top ten positions minimum.
Ferrari abandoned their 2025 development programme in April. Seven months of racing a car they’d already given up on. Fred Vasseur admitted he underestimated the psychological damage that decision would cause. Well, Lewis’s Q1 exits are what psychological damage looks like when it manifests on track.
The Title Permutations Nobody Can Remember
Right, here’s how this works. Norris wins the championship if Verstappen doesn’t outscore him by 13 points. Simple enough? Good, because it gets complicated quickly.
Verstappen needs to win and hope Norris finishes fourth or lower. If Verstappen finishes second, Norris must drop to eighth whilst Piastri doesn’t win. If Verstappen’s third, Norris needs to finish ninth or lower with Piastri again not winning. Got all that? Neither have we.
The easiest summary: Norris finishes on the podium, he’s champion. Anything else creates chaos and requires calculator apps. But starting second behind someone who’s dominated the last ten Abu Dhabi pole-sitters? That’s not exactly the comfortable position McLaren probably envisioned weeks ago.
When Ten Years Of History Works Against You
Every Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2015 has been won from pole position. Every single one. That’s a decade of evidence suggesting that whoever leads into Turn 1 tomorrow will probably still be leading 58 laps later.
Verstappen knows this. Norris knows this. McLaren’s strategists definitely know this, assuming they’ve bothered checking the historical data between inventing new ways to sabotage their own drivers. The pressure’s entirely on the papaya cars now. They’ve got track position advantage with two cars versus one, but the one Red Bull car is starting from the best possible position.
Sunday’s Bloodbath Awaits
The race starts at 2pm local time, which is 10am GMT for those keeping track. Verstappen leads from pole with Norris alongside and Piastri lurking behind in third. George Russell starts fourth after nearly binning his Mercedes at Turn 14 during his final Q3 lap, whilst Charles Leclerc claimed fifth despite admitting he was “surprised” to even make Q3.
“We have to try and maximise everything we have with the car. That’s the only thing we can control. And we definitely did that in qualifying.” – Max Verstappen
Verstappen’s approaching this with the mentality of someone who’s already won just by getting here. He was 104 points behind after Zandvoort. Now he’s 12 points back with pole position for the finale. Even if Norris wins the title, Verstappen’s comeback represents one of the great championship efforts.
But he’s not done yet. Sunday brings F1’s first three-way title decider since 2010. Verstappen’s on pole. Norris has mathematical certainty if he finishes third or better. Piastri’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain from causing chaos.
What could possibly go wrong for McLaren? Oh right, literally everything if their strategic incompetence makes another appearance. Should be fun watching them try not to sabotage themselves one final time.
