The F1 Title Fight Will End in the Front Row
The 2025 season is coming to an end in Abu Dhabi, and a largely uneventful qualifying displayed a starting grid befitting the title fight deciding race: McLarens in P2/P3, one Max Verstappen on pole. With the Driver’s standings lead by Lando Norris, starting P2, it looks favorable for the British racer, but he’ll be counting on his team to avoid any major errors. Both he and teammate Oscar Piastri, starting P3, lost out on points in the past two weekends after a double DSQ in Las Vegas, followed by poor strategy in Qatar. Lando subsequently lost a significant part of his lead, and any of these three drivers could take the championship. Here’s the rundown on how each driver could win it all tomorrow.
Lando Norris
Norris has already stated his intention to focus on the individual race and not to think about the title. Starting in second, he’s in the best position to make a quick overtake on the first lap. Max isn’t known to give up leads, so Norris will want to be aggressive from the first turn. However, a win isn’t necessary for him to claim the WDC. Regardless of Verstappen or Piastri’s final position, if Norris ends up on the podium, he has enough points to become champion. This means that getting ahead isn’t vital, and his primary concern should be avoiding any costly errors, something he did in Las Vegas following an aggressive start from pole.
Max Verstappen
A win would be the obvious best result for Verstappen, but the championship is out of his control. Ultimately, what needs to happen for Max to win his fifth title is for Norris not to score a podium. That makes it more dependent on Norris and McLaren to operate flawlessly, which doesn't look as unlikely as it should for the 2025 Constructors’ Champions. This time, a blunder for McLaren would be remembered more than their championship victory.
Oscar Piastri
Like Verstappen, Oscar Piastri’s chances bank on Norris failing. He’ll also need to score above Verstappen, currently four points above Piastri in the standings. After leading the championship for half the season, the Aussie has struggled to secure podiums and victories since the August break. His pace seems to have returned, however, and he almost certainly would have won the Qatar Grand Prix if not for his team’s mistake. Though he’ll be starting behind his championship rivals, Piastri is well and truly still in the fight.
