Jolyon Palmer tells Lando Norris what he ‘has to do’ before Abu Dhabi to win the 2025 F1 title

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Lando Norris still holds a solid lead in the 2025 F1 title fight heading into the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Briton has lost ground to his rivals at each of the last two races, but is still in control of his drivers’ championship fate.

If Norris finishes third or higher at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he will officially be crowned champion for the first time in his career.

McLaren scuppered the efforts of their drivers with a less-than-ideal strategy in Qatar, stripping them of the chance to win.

Martin Brundle saw Norris’ head drop after he lacked the pace to get past a Mercedes and Williams at the end of the race.

Whether or not it’s to his detriment, McLaren won’t issue team orders in Abu Dhabi, which could open the door for Max Verstappen. Fans will be concerned about his presence.

READ MORE: F1 fans have one message for McLaren after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri face strategy misery

Jolyon Palmer urges Lando Norris to ‘reset’ ahead of Abu Dhabi title decider

Zak Brown and Andrea Stella were ‘shellshocked’ and couldn’t believe how their Qatar Grand Prix unfolded, taking time to gather their thoughts before addressing the media after the race.

McLaren fans were left stunned by their strategy error, and it means that the championship leader has now scored just 12 points in two races.

Speaking after the race in Qatar, Jolyon Palmer has told Norris to go away and have an important ‘reset’ ahead of the finale in Abu Dhabi.

Who is your pick for the 2025 champion after the Qatar Grand Prix?

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“I still think Lando is the big favourite,” he said on F1TV. “He has to clear his head. I was just thinking, Max would be out of this championship, because after Las Vegas, Lando had a 42-point advantage between getting a DQ between having a strategy gap.

“That has come so far down. You feel like something that was, they started engraving it, the trophy, probably, after Vegas, as the chequered flag fell.

“When you feel like you’ve been that close, to feel like now, suddenly someone else might win it is tricky. The mental reset he’s got to have now in the next few days is huge, but I think he can do it, and I still think McLaren have the best car.”

READ MORE: Andrea Stella admits McLaren are not doing enough to help Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Why McLaren face a big dilemma at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

With Piastri still in the fight for the title, he simply needs to win and hope that his teammate finishes lower than sixth place.

No matter what Verstappen does in that situation, he would end up finishing behind him in the drivers’ standings.

But if Piastri is ahead of Norris, but not in the lead, would they ask him to move over to ensure that the team wins two titles?

They’ve tried their best all season (mainly to their detriment) to keep things fair, but losing the title to Red Bull would be so upsetting and frustrating for them. They can’t afford to do that.