Max\u2019s fourth teammate in two seasons as Red Bull swing axe, new driver joins F1<\/a><\/p>\n“Got nothing to do with it” | 01:36<\/p>\n
CAN NORRIS KEEP HIS COOL?<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019s 12-point lead marks him out as the obvious championship favourite at the final round of the year.<\/p>\n
But that sort of status can only pile on the pressure.<\/p>\n
Nothing tests a driver\u2019s steel and resolve like a last-race decider. It\u2019s not just the eyes of the media and F1 fans around the world suddenly trained on your every movement; every other driver is instinctively attracted to the showdown. The F1 paddock is already a fishbowl, but in Abu Dhabi there\u2019s a hell of a lot less water for Norris to swim in.<\/p>\n
The problem for the Englishman is that he\u2019s never been here before. This wouldn\u2019t just be his first championship; this is his first championship campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the minute I feel good,\u201d he said. \u201cI really don\u2019t think of it at all until you guys [the media] ask it all the time, so I try to avoid you guys as much as possible. But that\u2019s also part of the job, so it\u2019s nothing new, it\u2019s nothing that shocks me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be the same on track as I have these last few weeks. As much as there has been pressure the last few weeks, I still feel comfortable and still feel good in the car, so all good.\u201d<\/p>\n
But compare him, for example, to Verstappen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trophy is the same, I have four of those at home,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve already achieved everything I wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very relaxed. I have nothing to lose and am just enjoying being here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just enjoying smiling, having these wins again. It\u2019s fantastic. For me, everything here is just a bonus sitting here fighting for the title. Also that makes it very straightforward for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Piastri underlined how little he felt was on his shoulders this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m relaxed,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been on the opposite side of the championship battle in the junior categories and I know what that felt like, and it was pretty tough<\/p>\n
\u201cComing into it from the least to lose out of us three is quite different for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course every driver is going attempt to deal some psychological damage at this point of the season, but of the three contenders, Norris feels the most susceptible to suffering from it.<\/p>\n
Despite his strong second half of the year, in Qatar we saw his Q3 mistakes from earlier in the season creep back in. Even in Las Vegas, at the previous round, he butchered the start by appearing to be worked up by the way Verstappen was conducting the formation lap behind him.<\/p>\n
It makes this race particularly meaningful for Norris. Winning the title will be an immense achievement, but if he has to overcome Verstappen in the process, it could reset the trajectory of his Formula 1 reputation entirely.<\/p>\n
Red Bull axe Tsunoda in favour of Hadjar | 00:33<\/p>\n
WILL McLAREN USE TEAM ORDERS?<\/p>\n
McLaren\u2019s policy all season has been to avoid picking a winner, allowing Piastri and Norris to fight for supremacy between themselves.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s admirable, but it\u2019s also what got the team to Abu Dhabi with a genuine risk of Verstappen beating both of them to the championship.<\/p>\n
But surely the team hasn\u2019t come this far to not throw everything at sealing the deal on its first drivers-constructors title double since 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I would love it,\u201d Norris admitted. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think I would ask [for] it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessarily down to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the same if it\u2019s the other way around. Would I be willing to or not? Personally, I think I would, just because I feel like I\u2019m always like that, and that\u2019s just how I am.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s not really up to me. I\u2019m not going to ask it. I don\u2019t want to ask it because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessarily a fair question.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, if that\u2019s how it ends and Max wins, then, well, that\u2019s it \u2014 congrats to him and I look forward to next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri wouldn\u2019t say whether or not he would be happy to accept a team order that would amount to, say, him giving up a spot on the podium to win Norris the title.<\/p>\n
He did appear to hint, however, that he was expecting to be told that he\u2019d be put in that position before the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something we\u2019ve discussed,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t really have an answer until I know what\u2019s expected of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLaren boss Andrea Stella left the door open to team orders in certain conditions in comments after the Qatar Grand Prix, though he emphasised that both Piastri and Norris would be given an equal chance to prove they could get themselves in a title-winning position this weekend.<\/p>\n
But now is when the rubber hits the road on McLaren\u2019s grand plans and on the culture management has built.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the situation won\u2019t arise, but McLaren would be silly not to try to plan for it.<\/p>\n
‘She got it right’ Schmitz celebrated | 01:10<\/p>\n
WILL VERSTAPPEN START ON THE FRONT FOOT?<\/p>\n
Verstappen joked that being in title contention seemed so unrealistic even just a few weeks ago that none of his family arranged to attend the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum is at home happy with the dogs,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can see a lot on TV anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a lighthearted comment, but it cut to the core of how Verstappen got here.<\/p>\n
For so much of this year he simply didn\u2019t have the machinery to compete for the title.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until the Italian Grand Prix, round 16 of 24, that Red Bull Racing brought an upgrade to the car that opened its set-up window and kickstarted his season.<\/p>\n
Verstappen has won five of the last eight grands prix and is yet to finish off the podium.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not to say everything has since been easy. <\/p>\n
In Mexico City he qualified only fifth, and though his race pace was better, he was no match for Norris.<\/p>\n
Sao Paulo was even harder, with Verstappen knocked out of Q1 and needing drastic set-up changes, triggering a pit-lane start, to finally unlock what turned out to be obliterating race pace that had him finish a barely believable third.<\/p>\n
It was a similar story in Qatar, where it took post-sprint set-up changes to deliver the sort of race pace he needed to seize upon McLaren\u2019s strategic blunder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to put the car in the right window,\u201d Red Bull Racing boss Laurent Mekies said, per Autosport. \u201cAs you can see, it\u2019s not exactly straightforward every race weekend, and then if we do that, Max can fight for the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he does that, then what\u2019s happening hopefully behind him is not something we can control.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go there, try to get our car in the sweet spot, try to give to Max a balance that he\u2019s excelling with and hopefully that puts him in the fight for the top position \u2014 we won\u2019t control what\u2019s behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pace is there in the RB21 to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It just depends on whether Red Bull Racing can nail the car\u2019s sweet spot and how quickly it can do so.<\/p>\n
Brown and Piastri’s awkward moment | 00:17<\/p>\n
CAN YUKI TSUNODA RISE TO THE OCCASION?<\/p>\n
The last time the title race went down to the wire was between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in 2021, one of the most memorable and controversial showdowns in Formula 1 history.<\/p>\n
But for all the focus on the two protagonists \u2014 and the radio messages from their team representatives to race control \u2014 there was one pivotal character often forgotten in the desert haze.<\/p>\n
Sergio P\u00e9rez was integral to the outcome.<\/p>\n
It was P\u00e9rez\u2019s first season with Red Bull Racing, and the team\u2019s decision to break with tradition and hire from outside its pool of junior drivers that year paid off handsomely in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
Hamilton was comfortably leading Verstappen in the first stint when the Dutchman pitted at the end of lap 13, with Hamilton following him in on the following tour to retain a margin of more than 10 seconds.<\/p>\n
Perez, however, was left out and given the instruction to hold up Hamilton so that Verstappen could catch him.<\/p>\n
Between Hamilton catching him on lap 19 and passing him on lap 21, Verstappen slashed his deficit to just 1.2 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheco is a legend,\u201d Verstappen said as he passed his teammate.<\/p>\n
Verstappen didn\u2019t have the speed to race Hamilton, but it turned out that didn\u2019t matter. What P\u00e9rez did was shrink the Mercedes driver\u2019s advantage so that the Dutchman remained in his pit window to the end of the race.<\/p>\n
It meant that when that fateful safety car was deployed late, Hamilton couldn\u2019t enter pit lane without losing the lead to Verstappen, who then would have stayed out to take first place \u2014 this of course being before anyone thought race control had time to restart the race.<\/p>\n
Given Verstappen\u2019s title fate isn\u2019t all in his own hands this weekend, he could really use wingman in pursuit of the title.<\/p>\n
Yuki Tsunoda has been way too far off the pace this year to be relied upon, and Red Bull Racing sacking him in on Tuesday is a most interesting motivational strategy.<\/p>\n
But the Japanese fallen star knows this weekend might be his last in Formula 1 \u2014 and if it isn\u2019t, what he does in Abu Dhabi could be the start of his comeback somewhere else on the grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sees this as his big opportunity and is even more motivated,\u201d Red Bull motorsport adviser Marko told Kleine Zeitung. \u201cYuki wants to prove himself to everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll certainly put on a spectacular show; he told me that over dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s before wondering whether Isack Hadjar, the Racing Bulls driver who will partner Verstappen next year, might be inclined to help his future teammate should circumstances allow.<\/p>\n
Every little bit of help could count.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How much is 12 points worth in a championship decider? That\u2019s the question Lando Norris must be contemplating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[944,2095,13273,1724,64,63,689,961,11308,2791,31300,106485,163494,132219,18241,183943,181139,16177,183947,817,183942,16236,676,28118,813,816,2105,183932,841,14211,181143,183936,183938,183934,183946,142592,1737,2623,183939,183930,75926,181151,825,2184,23956,18268,2627,2041,2067,183931,677,2119,159462,37748,183937,183941,34869,16260,130142,21749,21786,36830,183933,25598,183316,94288,157083,942,11298,2812,183935,85,117411,183312,31283,183940,51041,183945,22294,183324,183944,24584,29994,2614,12000,5077],"class_list":["post-327998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-america","tag-andrea-stella","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-azerbaijan","tag-brazil","tag-central-america","tag-championship-battle","tag-championship-campaign","tag-championship-decider","tag-championship-showdown","tag-clive-rose","tag-culture-management","tag-dramatic-final-race","tag-drivers-title","tag-drivers-constructors-title","tag-f1","tag-fateful-safety-car","tag-final-race","tag-final-round","tag-formation-lap","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-plans","tag-grand-prix","tag-grands-prix","tag-hannah-schmitz","tag-head-start-means","tag-immense-achievement","tag-in-season-testing","tag-junior-categories","tag-junior-drivers","tag-lando-norris","tag-las-vegas","tag-last-race-decider","tag-lead-marks","tag-marko","tag-max-capitalises","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mexico","tag-mexico-city","tag-motorsport-adviser","tag-nevada","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-obliterating-race-pace","tag-oceania","tag-pit-talk","tag-pit-lane-start","tag-points-worth","tag-post-sprint-set-up-changes","tag-practice-hurt","tag-practice-time","tag-qatar","tag-race-control","tag-race-pace","tag-race-weekend","tag-rap-sheet","tag-rookie-action","tag-safety-car","tag-secret-order","tag-secret-weapon","tag-set-up-changes","tag-singapore","tag-south-america","tag-south-eastern-asia","tag-spectacular-show","tag-sports","tag-street-tracks","tag-swing-axe","tag-team-orders","tag-team-representatives","tag-title-decider","tag-title-fate","tag-title-race","tag-title-scenario","tag-title-seasons","tag-track-conditions","tag-united-arab-emirates","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-asia","tag-yuki-tsunoda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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