“Funny things can happen. That’s what I’ve learned…”
Oscar Piastri might be going for his first Formula 1 world championship, but he has won titles in multiple junior categories before. When the last final-race title showdown in F1 was taking place in Abu Dhabi, in 2021, Piastri was also securing his own championship that very weekend, wrapping up the Formula 2 crown in the Sprint race at Yas Marina.
His previous title in F3 had looked like his for the taking until a tricky final round at Mugello almost enabled outsider Theo Pourchaire to pip him at the last, while then-teammate Logan Sargeant – also firmly in the frame by the final race – was taken out early. Sometimes it doesn’t come easy to the driver with the most to lose.
“From where I’m sat, I need things to happen in the race to win the championship,” Piastri said on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. “So, I’ll wait and see if those things happen…”
Piastri has a great vantage point of those things, having secured third on the grid, behind a front row of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. But the final finishing positions would not be enough for either of the chasing drivers, with Norris able to become champion with a podium on Sunday.
“All out – I have nothing to lose,” pole-sitter Max Verstappen said of his approach as a result. “So for me, of course, I’m going to try to win the race. I’m going to defend. If I need to attack, I’ll attack, because what can happen? You’re either second or third – or you win. That would be fantastic.”
Verstappen has done the first part of the job, but needs to hold onto his lead and see Norris drop at least two positions by the finish to retain his title. A similar scenario faced Lewis Hamilton against Nico Rosberg in 2016 – when Hamilton tried to back his rival into the pack behind – but the Dutchman thinks that is unlikely to be a realistic option to him if he wants to influence the outcome himself.
“It was also a different layout [in 2016],” Verstappen said. “I feel like now you get towed around a lot more around the lap, so it’s probably not as easy to do something like that.
“Cars also are completely different to back then. I felt like it was a lot easier back then to back it up because the tires would overheat a lot when you would get close. I remember even in 2016, in some qualifying laps, you couldn’t go flat out in Sector 1 to keep the tires alive in the last sector – which actually was here, for example. So, very different times. I hope it’s not straightforward, the race, but hopefully that’s not because of me!
“Of course, I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to try to win that race. But of course, with that, I still need a little bit of help or luck to win the championship. We’ll see how that goes tomorrow.”
A pragmatic Norris couldn’t hide his disappointment that it was Verstappen who beat him to pole position given the defending champion is his biggest title threat, but going from second he is keen not to overthink the situation and says he will weigh up risk versus reward in the moment.
“I felt like I got a lot out of the car today, but it just wasn’t enough,” Norris said. “So, a bit disappointed because you just want to be on pole for the final race of the year. But we just didn’t have the pace today.
“I felt like I got the maximum out of the car, and I have to be happy with that. Of course, behind the one person I kind of want to be ahead of – that’s the only reason for the disappointment. But otherwise, I was pretty happy with my laps, and it was the maximum we could do.
“I’ll decide [how to approach the race] when I have to… The time will come when I think of that. But for now, disappointed to not be on pole, and I still want to try win tomorrow. So that’s going to be the goal.”
While Piastri revealed the biggest lesson he’s learned from his previous title scenarios, Norris had the experience of a potential deciding day just one week ago. Yet the championship leader doesn’t see that as an experience to lean on.
“It feels a bit different [in Abu Dhabi], just because it’s the final race of the year, not because of anything else,” he said. “I felt pretty normal into Sunday last week. I didn’t really have the expectation that I was going to get the championship because I started P2 and just didn’t really expect it.
“I felt good then, I feel good now. I feel comfortable and ready to go. I feel like we’ve got a good plan for things. But you can’t plan for everything.”
