The decision on who will be the 2025 Formula 1 champion remains for the last race of the year. After Max Verstappen’s victory last week in Qatar, the dispute is decided between the Dutchman, four times world champion, and the McLaren duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The race will take place at the Yas Marina circuit, in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Among this trio of possible winners, only Verstappen knows what it’s like to lift the world champion’s trophy. But the favorite is Lando Norris, with 408 points, obtained in seven victories and 17 podiums. The British too started the weekend with the foot on the acceleratorgetting ahead of the Red Bull opponent in the first free practice sessions.
But everything will be decided in Sunday’s race. The four-time champion is just behind in the table, with 396 points and seven winsin addition to being on the podium 14 times throughout the season.
With fewer mathematical hypotheses, but still in the fight, Oscar Piastri also won seven races, has 392 points and was in the top three 15 times during the year. In free practice on Friday, December 5, the Australian was the slowest among the three title candidates.
Piastri was, in a way, this year’s big revelation, having taken the lead in the World Cup in April, after the victory in Saudi Arabia. In addition to Verstappen, the main opponent was his teammate, Lando Norris.
This dispute led to McLaren to win the constructors’ championship at the beginning of October, with third and fourth place in Singapore. Now, the decision is about which of the young drivers will give the team victory in the World Championship.
The race will take place on Sunday, December 7th, at 1:00 pm, Lisbon time. In Abu Dhabi it will be 5pm, to start the race with slightly less scorching temperatures. In 2024, Max Verstappen was the winner, but the final dispute had already been decided: he had won the World Championship in Las Vegas, finishing the race in fifth place. This time, the emotion will be until the end.
No problem! It’s perfectly fine to change names, especially with the excitement of the season finale. Here is the updated news with today’s results in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen conquistou a pole position
To increase the pressure on McLaren, Max Verstappen guaranteed this Saturday (6) the pole position for the decisive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The four-time world champion recorded an impressive lap of 1m22.207s at the Yas Marina circuit, beating direct competition and securing the best possible position to defend his title aspirations. This was the eighth pole of the season for the Dutch driver.
McLaren had to settle for places just behind Verstappen. Lando Norris will start from second position, having been 0.201s behind the race time. pole. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, will start from third.
The “top 10” of qualifying also included George Russell (Mercedes) in fourth and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in fifth.
Very positive highlight for Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber), who shone by reaching seventh position, equaling his best qualifying result in Formula 1 to date. Fernando Alonso placed his Aston Martin in a respectable sixth place, ahead of names like Esteban Ocon and Isack Hadjar.
On the negative, Lewis Hamilton once again had a session to forget. The British Ferrari driver was unable to make it past Q1, being eliminated early and only securing 16th place on the starting grid for his final race of the season. Other names eliminated early included Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon, who will now have a difficult task to reach the points in the race that ends this season.