Red Bull driver Max Verstappen speaks during an interview in Suzuka, central Japan, Thursday, March 26, 2026, ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Formula One Grand Prix race.
| Photo Credit: AP

File photo of Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Lando Norris will battle his own nerves as much as his rivals’ speed as he bids to end Max Verstappen’s four-year reign as F1 world champion in Sunday’s (December 7, 2025) season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

After two weekends of self-inflicted setbacks, championship leader Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri need an error-free event to ensure Red Bull’s number one cannot complete a spectacular end-of-season recovery in glorious style.

For the first time since a four-way scrap at the final race in Abu Dhabi in 2010, the title will be decided by a contest involving more than two drivers with McLaren, in particular, nervously glancing in their mirrors for Verstappen.

Norris has a 12-point lead on Verstappen ahead of the finale and a 16-point advantage on team-mate Piastri, and needs to finish on the podium to prevail.

But it is the Dutchman who has the momentum with five wins in his last eight outings – and no distraction from a team-mate rival or blurred team orders.

Last weekend, in Qatar, two weeks after both Norris and Piastri were disqualified in Las Vegas for an illegal level of wear on their under-car planks, McLaren contrived to bungle a key pit-stop decision and gifted victory to Verstappen.

Piastri was the fastest driver in every session, but he finished second and Norris third – a result that set up this Sunday’s showdown in the desert, the most hotly-anticipated since Verstappen ended Lewis Hamilton’s run as champion in controversial circumstances in 2021.

On paper, it is Norris’s title to lose, but history — recent and past — shows anything can happen when the stakes are at their highest.

In 2010, for example, Ferrari’s two-time champion Fernando Alonso arrived with an eight-point lead on Red Bull’s Mark Webber with his team-mate Sebastian Vettel 15 adrift in third ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel took pole position and won, Hamilton was second and Alonso and Webber seventh and eighth.

Piastri, therefore, remains justified in believing he still has a chance, particularly after showing outstanding form and pace in Qatar.

The 24-year-old Australian, bidding to be his country’s first champion since Alan Jones in 1980, is managed by Webber now and will not lack in mental focus at the Yas Marina Circuit where Norris won last year and Verstappen the previous four.

Verstappen, however, has seen it all before and after goading McLaren about their mistakes in recent weeks, and producing fast and near-flawless drives himself, will feel he can equal Michael Schumacher’s record of winning five consecutive titles.

‘Best shot’

He has overturned a 104-point deficit to the leader since August 31 when Piastri last won during his spell as championship leader for 15 Grands Prix.

All three drivers have won seven races this year, with Mercedes’ George Russell winning the other two, and the closeness of the competition this year – albeit that McLaren had the outstanding car until they clinched the constructors’ title and stopped bringing updates – suggests a fierce and dramatic ending lies ahead.

Norris has the simplest task and a stable temperament linked to a modest if not self-effacing personality.

“We’ve had an incredible season with an incredible car and I am proud of everyone,” he said.

“We have one more race and we will give it everything.”

While a podium will be enough for Norris to claim his maiden title, Piastri needs to win or finish second and hope for help from others while Verstappen must win and hope Norris is no better than fourth.

“I didn’t expect this, but I am still in it so we will give it our best shot,” said Verstappen.

The race will also see Mercedes’ bid to beat Red Bull to second in the teams’ title race and the luckless Yuki Tsunoda make his final outing with Red Bull before being replaced by Racing Bulls’ outstanding rookie Isack Hadjar.

For Ferrari’s seven-time champion Hamilton, a five-time winner in Abu Dhabi, it offers a final chance to end his unwanted record of a first season without a podium while the team hunt a first win since his predecessor Carlos Sainz triumphed in Mexico last year.

Published – December 05, 2025 04:58 am IST

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, on November 27, 2025, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Max Verstappen made clear his feelings about George Russell’s actions leading to him being stripped of pole position when he spoke out after winning Sunday’s chaotic Qatar Grand Prix. The newly-crowned four-time world champion said he felt “surprised and disappointed” by the Mercedes driver’s attempt to see him penalised after an incident during qualifying at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday. “I was surprised and disappointed in the stewards’ room,” said Verstappen. “I have been in there many times, of course, but I have never before seen someone trying to screw someone else over that hard.”

Speaking to reporters after winning Sunday’s race, Verstappen had explained that he had been trying “to be nice” in slowing down on his lap in qualifying and did nothing deliberate to upset Russell. 

The pair had enjoyed a good relationship until this incident which Verstappen made clear had changed his view. 

“I was just trying to be nice and maybe that is not the way to be,” he said. “But I am not surprised by anything anymore in this business.”

Russell had complained that Verstappen’s driving was dangerous on Saturday when he slowed on track ahead of him, causing him to take evasive action. 

The outcome of his complaint was a stewards’ investigation and Verstappen being stripped of his pole position — his one place demotion gifting his rival his career fifth pole. 

But the Mercedes driver was unable to take advantage of his position at the start of the race when a determined Verstappen made a blistering start and then stormed to a classic flawless win. 

His race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase referred to the stewards’ decision and penalty during Verstappen’s slow down lap after winning. 

“Karma is a wonderful thing,” he said. “You definitely did not drive unnecessarily slowly today. Great job.”

The Dutch driver responded by praising the Red Bull team. 

“Simply lovely, guys. Yes, yes, yes. What an unbelievable race again. That was really fun!”

After finishing eighth in Saturday’s sprint race, he and Red Bull performed a spectacular turnaround to win on Sunday, claiming his ninth victory of the season. 

“It was a very good race,” he said. “Of course, yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better and today that first stint was very, very fast. Lando and I were within 1.8 seconds of each other the whole time, pushing each other and honestly, it was a lot of fun out there.

“This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on, so that was a lot of fun to be really pushing the tyre. We went really long on that first stint. After that there were a few Safety Car moments that you had to take care of, but I’m very happy.

“It’s been a while in the dry to be this competitive, and very proud of everyone in the team to turn it around within a day. So they definitely also deserve this victory.”

Newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen has been stripped of pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix for impeding Mercedes driver George Russell in qualifying on Saturday. Red Bull’s Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty for blocking Russell with the British driver starting on pole instead of the Dutchman. Hours after Verstappen claimed his first pole position for five months a one-place penalty was imposed for driving unnecessarily slowly, a manouevre that pushed Russell into the gravel. The Red Bull driver clocked the fastest lap in one minute and 20.520 seconds and Russell was originally second for Mercedes just 0.055 seconds adrift.

But the British driver cried foul immediately.

“Super-dangerous by Verstappen,” said the Mercedes driver, whose thoughts prompted the stewards to investigate. 

“I ended up going through the gravel and all over the floor it felt like it was scraping,” said Russell. 

McLaren’s Lando Norris remains third while sprint-race winner Oscar Piastri of McLaren was fourth with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the third row along with Lewis Hamilton in sixth for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Norris admitted his disappointment at missing out on a front row start. 

“It’s not what we hoped for, but it was the maximum we could do. My lap was pretty good, but not quick enough.”

Hamilton, set for Ferrari next year, finished sixth, admitting: “I don’t really care. I just want to get through these races, do my job, turn up and look forward to the winter break.” 

After the early laps, Verstappen led before Russell went top in 1:21.519, a time that was seven-tenths quicker than Hamilton’s best as he struggled to extract matching pace on his way to ninth. 

With four minutes to go, Russell offered Hamilton a tow which lifted him to sixth, 0.118 off the pace in a tight field before Russell trimmed two-tenths off his best lap in 1:21.241, beating Leclerc by 0.037 with Sainz third ahead of Norris.  

Out went Alex Albon and his Williams team-mate Franco Colapinto along with Liam Lawson of RB, Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. 

Russell began Q3 in the same style, clocking 1:21.161, but his top spot was quickly taken by Verstappen in 1:21.085, Red Bull’s set-up changes, following the sprint, paying dividends.

On his second run, Russell improved to go top again by 0.001 seconds, but it was not enough in improving conditions to resist a revitalised Verstappen, or Norris, who clocked 1:20.983. 

It looked solid for McLaren, but in a final flurry of laps Verstappen went top in 1:20.687 with Hamilton rising to fifth, within 0.026 of Russell in fourth, and Alonso and Magnussen claiming top ten spots. 

The ‘top 10 shootout’ began with Russell topping the pile in 1:20.575 ahead of Leclerc on their opening runs when Norris ran off at Turn Five and failed to clock a time before Verstappen slotted into second. 

This left McLaren in need of a strong late lap in the final seconds as they all ran again and Verstappen, against his own forecasts, finished ahead of Russell and Norris for what looked like his first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.

George Russell of Mercedes took pole position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Friday while title-chasing Max Verstappen was fifth as the Dutchman closes in on a fourth successive world championship. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was second ahead of Pierre Gasly of Alpine with Red Bull’s Verstappen finishing one spot ahead of title rival Lando Norris of McLaren who was sixth. Verstappen, who won the Las Vegas race in 2023, leads Norris by 62 points with three races remaining and needs simply to finish ahead of him on Saturday night to become only the sixth man to win four world titles.

Norris has to beat Verstappen by three points to keep his slim championship hopes alive.

“At least we are ahead of the McLarens. I didn’t expect that so it’s good,” said Verstappen, hampered by Red Bull’s error in bring the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas.

“We’re just a bit too slow. We have been struggling to get the tyres to work over a lap and we’re too slow on the straights.”

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, was fourth fastest in qualifying and will share the second row with Gasly whose impressive performance on the Las Vegas street circuit followed a shock third-place finish in Brazil last time out.

Yuki Tsunoda of RB was seventh with Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg in a Haas and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes completing the top 10.

Russell clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.312 seconds to outpace Sainz by 0.098 seconds for his third pole this year the fourth of his career.

“It feels incredible to be back on pole,” said Russell, who clipped a wall in the third and final qualifying run.

“I had a bit of a moment on my first run and we had to change the front wing so for a while I didn’t think we were going to make the flag, but I am just so happy.”

Norris felt the “top four was out of reach” for him.

“But I will keep going to the end and will do my best in every race whether I am fighting for the championship or not.”

Colapinto crash

On a cool night in America’s gambling capital, with a track temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, it was Gasly who set the pace as the rest slithered in early pursuit.

Having been quickest in the earlier final free practice, Russell topped Q1 ahead of Hamilton.

Unfortunately for Red Bull, Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez’s miserable season continued as he was eliminated along with Aston Martin’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, Williams’ Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas of Sauber and Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin.

Hamilton set the Q2 pace in 1:33.136. After his dismal outing in Brazil where he finished 10th in the rain, this was evidence of a revitalised Hamilton ahead of a move to Ferrari next year.

Verstappen briefly went top with an edgy lap before Mercedes responded with Russell taking control as both he and Hamilton delivered improved laps, Russell clocking 1:32.881.

At this stage, Verstappen was showing enough pace to stay ahead of Norris before the Q2 segment ended with a yellow flag as Franco Colapinto hit the wall at the penultimate corner in his Williams, climbing out of the wreckage unhurt.

It was his second consecutive crash in qualifying and left the team with a big repair and rebuild job – the British team’s sixth in three Grands Prix.

The Argentine driver was already heading for a Q2 exit in 14th place along with RB’s Liam Lawson, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Hamilton topped Q2 to lead the way into the top ten shootout with a best lap in 1:32.567 ahead of Sainz and Russell.

The Q3 action resumed after a 25-minute delay for repairs, Verstappen leading the way followed by both McLarens before Russell clocked an early marker in 1:32.811 ahead of Sainz while Hamilton locked up and aborted his first lap.

Max Verstappen’s hopes of clinching a fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend took a dent on Friday when Red Bull revealed they brought the wrong rear wing. In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, the team’s senior advisor Helmut Marko said Red Bull were losing up to six-tenths of a second on the main straight, the Las Vegas Boulevard leading to Caesars Palace, after a packing blunder.  “We don’t have another rear wing, a smaller rear wing, as we see on our competitors,” said Marko. “It would be more helpful, for sure.”

He added that it was too late for the team to arrange for a more appropriate trimmed rear wing to be flown out to Las Vegas before the race on Saturday night.

Verstappen leads McLaren’s Lando Norris by 62 points with three races remaining and needs simply to finish ahead of him in Las Vegas to become the sixth man to win four world championships. 

The Dutchman, however, struggled in second practice on Thursday night, finishing 17th in slippery conditions on the cold, dry and dusty circuit around the streets of ‘Sin City’ where the three-time champion won last year’s race. 

Verstappen tried to make light of the team’s error, in packing the wrong rear wing, and blamed his struggle on the slippery conditions and difficulty with tyre temperatures. 

“The issue for us is definitely tyre-related as we have no grip and it feels like driving on ice,” he said.

“We struggled to make the tyres work, especially over one lap and we were quite far off with the pace.”

Team-mate Sergio Perez was 19th in the session topped by Mercedes’ seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton ahead of Norris of McLaren, who said on Wednesday it is “probably too late” to stop Verstappen taking the title.

“There were flashes of speed,” said Marko. “We just have to get consistency into it. On the single lap we can improve but on the long run, the tyre wear is a problem at the moment.”

He added that conditions may change in favour of Red Bull before the race. 

“Tomorrow is a different day,” he said. “You see it a lot of times. People will be fastest on Friday, or Thursday, but it doesn’t mean that they are fast in the race. We will, for sure, make a reasonable step.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris said on Wednesday he has acquired the experience to challenge for a Formula One world championship but it is “probably too late” to stop Max Verstappen taking a fourth consecutive title this weekend. The British driver requires a minimum of three more points than Red Bull’s three-time champion at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix to keep his title hopes alive. Las Vegas is the first of a triple-header finale to the season which ends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

“It’s been the first time that we’ve had a chance to fight at the front,” said Norris.

“We’ve not been able to do that for the past six years and this has been our and my first opportunity.

“I was definitely not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year, but since the summer break I feel I’ve done a very good job and performed very well, by far some of my best.

“I’m not completely happy with what I’ve done, but for the first time I feel I have got what it takes. I wasn’t outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max. I think I am now, but it is probably too late,” the 25-year-old added.

After a salutary experience at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where Verstappen ended a 10-race winless run, Norris conceded the “door is almost shut” on his title bid.

He goes into this weekend’s race 62 points adrift of Dutch driver Verstappen.

“Max is one of the best drivers ever in F1 and to go up against that person who is so good takes a bit more than I have done this season,” he said

“I am not completely happy with what I’ve done, but for the first time I feel I have got what it takes to fight for the championship.

“It doesn’t mean I’m complete and when you are competing against drivers like Max you have to be close to perfect. The main thing I can take away is I have faith I have what it takes to fight for a championship.”

Norris admitted he had experienced a “tough time” after finishing in sixth place in Brazil in early November.

“It was a defining moment for the championship. The doors are almost shut,” he said.

“For a week, I was pretty down because I had that realisation that things are pretty much out of my control and not within reach and that’s a tough thing.

“When your hopes are so high, to get it knocked down, that was pretty demoralising and not the best feeling.”