Max Verstappen says Abu Dhabi track change will stop him deliberately holding up Lando Norris

Follow us on Google Discover

Max Verstappen will face a dilemma if he’s leading Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Lando Norris is second. Norris only needs to finish on the podium to beat Verstappen to the title.

Verstappen could try to extend his lead, then hope that Norris runs into trouble. But he could also create problems for the McLaren driver himself by backing him into the cars behind.

While this strategy is clearly high risk – it would be disastrous if Norris took the lead from Verstappen – the reigning world champion says he has nothing to lose.

Who do you think will clinch the 2025 title this weekend?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

In 2016, Lewis Hamilton also arrived in Abu Dhabi 12 points adrift of the championship leader, in that case Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ignored Mercedes’ orders to speed up and drove at a relatively pedestrian pace, but Rosberg kept his rivals at bay and secured the podium that he needed.

Max Verstappen says it used to be ‘easier’ to back rivals up at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

During his Dutch media session on Thursday, Verstappen was asked if he could employ the same tactics as Hamilton. He paused before answering, which prompted laughter in the room.

Verstappen finished fourth in that 2016 race, just over a second behind Rosberg. But he says the changes to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit would make it difficult to replicate Hamilton’s strategy.

Before the unforgettable 2021 event, two chicanes were removed from the circuit to encourage racing. The lap record has since fallen by nearly 14 seconds.

With the ‘slipstream effect’ more powerful under the new configuration, it would be considerably easier for the driver in second to overtake a crawling Verstappen.

“Well, the layout was a bit different back then,”he explained, via Motorsport NL. “Now you have a bit more of a slipstream effect; back then the track was a lot slower. You could do that a bit easier back then.

“Back then, you also had that left-right hairpin at the back of the circuit, which made it easier to hold back. The tyres were also a bit more fragile back then; they overheated much faster. It’s not as easy now with this layout.”

David Croft thinks Oscar Piastri could risk it all against Lando Norris

David Croft thinks Oscar Piastri could back up Norris if he finds himself leading a McLaren one-two. That would be far more controversial.

While it would boost Piastri’s own title chances, it would also increase the likelihood of Verstappen denying McLaren the trophy altogether. This could lead to serious internal consequences.

The tactic is allowed within the rules, even if Sebastian Vettel called it ‘dirty’ in 2016.

Norris will aim to ensure none of this is relevant by taking pole position and building a lead of his own, but there’s a possibility that caution will creep into his driving with his first championship so close.