Contrary to popular belief, it is seldom we see or hear the full-blooded array of emotions we know Max Verstappen possesses deep in his psyche. Max 2.0 is no longer “Mad Max”; this is the new-and-improved version, still laser-focused but ultimately happier-than-ever. Four F1 titles in the cabinet, a fifth is a simple bonus. And it is that mantra which is inching him ever closer to an unprecedented comeback.
Yet on Saturday night under the Yas Marina bulbs, the Dutchman couldn’t resist a recrudesce. “Let’s f****** go, that was insane,” Verstappen beamed over team radio, immediately after setting not one but two laps worthy of a dominant pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In this most intriguing of season-deciders, Red Bull have struck the first blow.
Tantalisingly, all three title protagonists occupy the leading spots on Sunday’s grid. Come 5pm local time, championship leader Lando Norris will be racing off the line in spot No 2 with a disadvantage of eight metres. The Briton trailed Verstappen by 0.201 seconds in qualifying; a significant deficit over one lap. Oscar Piastri will be right behind Verstappen in third and will be crossing his fingers for carnage ahead as he looks to overturn a 16-point deficit.
For Norris, the 26-year-old from Somerset, the task is straightforward on paper: a podium secures his maiden title. He is looking to become Britain’s 11th F1 world champion and, armed with the quickest car, an incident-free 58-lap showdown on Sunday will be enough. Anything less opens the door for Verstappen.
‘I’m going all out, I have nothing to lose,” the Dutchman said, sandwiched in-between the two McLaren drivers in the post-qualifying press conference. “I’m going to try and win the race – if I need to attack, I will attack.
“Let’s see what we can do tomorrow. In the back of my mind, we want to score a lot of points but also we need a bit of luck with what happens behind us. But we can talk about strategy for two hours and then after lap one, it can all be thrown in the bin.”
Verstappen, in his first run in the top-10 shootout, benefited from a well-coordinated slipstream from out-the-door teammate Yuki Tsunoda to set the fastest time, three-tenths quicker than Piastri in second and almost 0.5 seconds ahead of Norris in third.
“Give him a really good tow, look in your mirrors,” Tsunoda was ordered by his engineer. And the Japanese driver complied, giving the Dutchman a significant speed boost on the two main straights. Yet even without a hole-in-the-air, Verstappen went quicker second time around.
Norris, in his first run, struggled to control a slide at turn one and never recovered the crucial lap time lost but, significantly, went quick enough on lap number two to pip his teammate to a front-row berth. Though “disappointed” with failing to beat his main rival for the championship, the McLaren driver was satisfied enough with a front-row spot.
“Max did a good job so congrats to him,” Norris said. “My lap was pretty good but we weren’t fast enough today – we’ll have to do it tomorrow.” Directly asked how he balances going for the win with his precarious title advantage, Norris’s reply was blunt: “I’ll decide when I have to.”
Despite Verstappen’s end-of-session pace, it was actually Piastri who made an early statement in the first phase of qualifying, setting a lap half-a-second faster than his teammate, while Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari nightmare continued with a third-straight Q1 elimination.
The 40-year-old will not be a factor on Sunday, four years on from missing out here in contentious circumstances at Yas Marina. Hamilton will line-up 16th on Sunday’s grid after missing out on Q2 by 0.008 seconds, a few hours after a violent crash in the final practice session. A glum Hamilton remarked to race engineer Riccardo Adami over team radio after qualifying: “Every time mate, I’m so sorry.”
Hamilton was never going to be in the fight at the top – but can anyone else challenge the top three? The Mercedes of George Russell looks most likely: he sets the fastest time in Q2 but almost lost the car on his final lap at the final corner in Q3 and will start P4. Fascinatingly, Verstappen will likely need his arch-rival to move up at least one place to steal the championship.
The grid positions set up a thrilling season-concluding grand prix. Speaking to The Independent in the paddock, ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports expert Anthony Davidson believes the Yas Marina Circuit is a leveller for the two teams in contention.
“I think it will be much more even between McLaren and Red Bull compared to Qatar, which favoured McLaren,” Davidson said. “Hotter temperatures definitely favour McLaren, but Max is rapid around this track, as proved by qualifying.
“It’ll be whoever gets it right on the night. You can overtake here if you start down the order and you see a lot more drop-off in the tyres in Abu Dhabi than in Qatar. There’s more avenues to go down with strategy and car setup – it makes it a much more even playing field.”
Dirty tricks could also be at play. From the front, it is possible that the Dutchman could decide against extending his lead on the track, instead going slower to back the whole pack up, causing a headache for Norris. Hamilton attempted something similar back in 2016 when Nico Rosberg was on course for the title. It didn’t work, but it kept it intoxicating to the chequered flag.
“It’s a different layout to back then,” Verstappen said. “It’s very different times. But I do hope it’s not a straightforward race.” Whether Piastri can steal a march at the start on Norris, too, could trigger the much-talked about McLaren team orders – and whether Piastri will be instructed to cede a position if necessary.
Plenty to lick one’s lips over then. McLaren have showed in the last fortnight how the pressure of the occasion weighs heavy in the heat of battle. Verstappen will be all too ready to pounce should McLaren or their leading driver cave for a third and decisive time. Norris must be ready for a dogfight.
