Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looking for a slice of luck to claim fifth F1 title in Abu Dhabi
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Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Max Verstappen took pole position at Abu Dhabi, needing "a little bit of luck" to secure a comeback and potentially win the championship.
- Lando Norris, leading Verstappen by 12 points, aims to win the race, balancing risk and reward to secure his first title.
- Oscar Piastri, also in contention, hasn't planned his start strategy, balancing his race win ambition with the championship goal.
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ABU DHABI - Max Verstappen said he needs a slice of luck to go with his supreme pace and pole position on Dec 7 if he is to deliver one of Formula One’s greatest comebacks.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion found an extra level of performance in the final seconds of a tense qualifying session on Dec 6 to take his 48th pole ahead of his title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren.
His eighth pole of the season confirmed his progress since the end of August when after Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix he was 104 points adrift of the title race leading Australian driver.
“We found a bit more lap time in Q3 here as the temperature came down and I am just incredibly happy to be in first place. We definitely maximised what we have with the car,” he said.
“I will try to win the race, of course, but also in the back of my mind we want to try and score a lot of points and try to win the championship.
‘We need a little bit of luck from what is happening behind us.”
With four championship wins in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 behind him, Verstappen can draw level with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher if he takes a fifth straight title.
Asked how he would approach the start and first corner in the Dec 7 race, where he collided with Piastri in 2024, Verstappen said: “All out. I’ve nothing to lose so I will try to win this race and all I can do is attack as much as I can and defend, too, if I have to.”
Norris, who leads Verstappen by 12 points and needs a podium finish to clinch his maiden drivers’ title, was disappointed at missing out on pole, but said he intended to try and win the Dec 7 race.
“There’s no point in thinking too much. I’ll check with the guys and girls who do a lot the work and see what we can do. My mindset is to win the race.
“So, that’s the approach, but without taking too many risks as we don’t need to do that and then hope it is to my advantage.”
Piastri, who is 16 points behind Norris in the title race, said: ‘Missing a practice on Friday never helps, but this is a track that we all know pretty well. It was something decided by the team.”
After being in collision with Verstappen at the first corner of 2024’s race, Piastri said he had not yet decided how he would approach the start on Dec 7.
“I’ve not started thinking about it, not that far ahead yet,” he said. “To win the championship, I have to do more than win the race so let’s see what that entails and what happens.”
Asked about team orders, he said: “We will discuss it, but not yet. Until Max or Lando cross the line ahead of me, I am still in the running for the championship so it is not an easy decision for anybody to take.” AFP
