As the final race approached—offering 25 points for a victory—Norris stood at 408 points, Verstappen at 396, and Piastri at 392 points. To secure the championship, all Norris required was a spot on the podium. If Verstappen triumphed and Norris finished in fourth place or lower, the Dutch driver would seize his fifth championship title. Piastri, who had been the title frontrunner for an extended period, faced the toughest challenge of all—he needed nothing short of a victory and some bad luck for the other two competitors.
Sometimes, the orange cars have created challenges for themselves that were unnecessary.
Qualifying turned out favorably for Verstappen, with Norris narrowly faster than Piastri for second and third places. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and George Russell’s Mercedes could have muddled the situation by interjecting themselves between the three main competitors but ultimately fell short.
The significant day
On race day, Verstappen got off to a decent start, maintained his position, and then focused on driving to the finish line. The Yas Marina circuit, reported to be the most lavishly constructed race track ever, had several corners reshaped in 2021 to enhance the racing experience, thus preventing the kind of tactics Lewis Hamilton employed against Nico Rosberg in 2016.
Verstappen was pursued by Piastri, who seized an opportunity to overtake Norris on lap 1. Norris, in turn, allowed him to pass, creating a moment of concern for his team as Leclerc’s Ferrari drew within a second before Norris displayed increased pace. An early pit stop meant Norris had to execute overtaking maneuvers on the track, which he accomplished with determination, a stark contrast to the more cautious driver we observed earlier in the season.
With eight victories this season, Verstappen has exhibited remarkable form. This makes Norris’s accomplishments even more noteworthy.
Verstappen’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, was among the cars he needed to overtake. After only two races this season, Tsunoda was promoted from the junior Racing Bulls squad but faced the typical struggles of being Red Bull’s second driver, with Abu Dhabi set to be his last race for the team given his meager score of less than a tenth of Verstappen’s points. Tsunoda attempted to impede Norris and forced him to the track’s outer edge but was penalized with a five-second time penalty for his erratic driving.
