Oscar Piastri makes Max Verstappen comment immediately after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will lead 2025 F1 title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri off the grid after he scored pole position for the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The top three in the F1 drivers’ championship will occupy the top three positions on the grid at Yas Marina. Verstappen took pole with a 1:22.207 to leave McLaren duo Norris and Piastri in his wake, with the papaya pair only posting 1:22.408 and 1:22.437 lap times this Saturday.

Verstappen will also now end the 2025 F1 season with the most pole positions. He has taken pole eight times over the 24 rounds, ahead of Norris’ seven and Piastri’s six. Only Mercedes’ George Russell (2) and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1) have also started a Grand Prix from pole.

Oscar Piastri questions how much race pace will count after Max Verstappen scored Abu Dhabi GP pole

But pole position for the Abu Dhabi GP alone will not be enough for Verstappen to also take the title and join Michael Schumacher as the only driver to win the championship five years on the spin. Verstappen would need Norris to finish P4 if he wins on Sunday to take the title.

READ MORE: 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying report, as Max Verstappen scores pole

Norris only needs to finish the Abu Dhabi GP in a podium position to win the drivers’ title for the first time. So, while Verstappen has impressed Piastri with his single lap and race pace so far at the Abu Dhabi GP, the McLaren star is not sure how much it will matter come the race.

Piastri said during the post-qualifying parc ferme interview: “We’ll find out tomorrow. I think Max has looked very quick in the long runs this weekend, and clearly very quick over one lap. So, yeah, let’s see how much pace is a factor tomorrow.”

Lando Norris had the best medium tyre race pace in practice at the Abu Dhabi GP

Verstappen will need help from elsewhere in the Abu Dhabi GP or for Norris (and potentially Piastri) to suffer some degree of misfortune if he is to win the title. Yet Verstappen has ruled out trying to back the pack up in Abu Dhabi, like Lewis Hamilton tried to do in the 2016 race.

The Dutchman believes the changes to the layout of the Yas Marina Circuit before the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, with the old Turns 5-6-7 chicane replaced with a hairpin and the Turns 11-12-13 chicane replaced with a sweeping left-hand bend, make it harder to hold rival drivers up.

But Verstappen may need the likes of Piastri and Russell from P3 and P4 to get involved and ahead of Norris during the Abu Dhabi GP. Norris, however, produced the best potential race pace on the medium C4 Pirelli tyres in Friday’s FP2 ahead of Piastri and Verstappen’s efforts.