Max Verstappen is sitting alone in the press room. At least: journalists are there, but the other drivers expected for the press conference after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are not yet. So he chats with someone in the room. About what he will do in the coming days: a day off in Dubai, then fly back to the Red Bull Racing headquarters in England. “And then I kind of have to go to Uzbekistan again.”
Indeed, Uzbekistan – and no: Verstappen is not going on holiday there. He will be honored next week in the capital Tashkent at the awards gala of the motor sports association FIA. But this time not as world champion. That honor goes to Lando Norris, the British McLaren driver who on Sunday had just enough points to take the world title from Verstappen at the end of a long and stressful day at the Yas Marina Circuit.
In Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 experienced its most nerve-wracking denouement since Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrived in 2021 with equal points to decide who would become champion – a battle that Verstappen won. Now the tension was mainly that three drivers had a chance, two of whom (Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri) had seen a huge points lead evaporate over the third, Verstappen, who seemed to have been eliminated a few months ago.
Norris was in the best position upon arrival in Abu Dhabi, with his lead of twelve points over Verstappen and sixteen over Piastri. But that’s precisely why he had the most to lose.
Staying out of trouble for an hour and a half and finishing on the podium was all Norris had to do for his first title, which – he said on Thursday – “would mean everything”. But as long as Verstappen was around, staying out of trouble wouldn’t be that simple. Verstappen, who is in top form, is known for his ruthlessness, has never shown an outward sign of insecurity – and can also console himself if he loses by polishing off his four other championship trophies at home in Monaco.
‘I enjoy that aspect’
On Saturday the pressure is really on for the first time. The title candidates must drive the fastest lap they can in qualifying in order to gain the highest possible starting position. This is very important in Abu Dhabi, because it is expected that overtaking will not be easy during the race. To keep the title in sight, Verstappen must actually conquer pole position.
The Dutchman succeeds with flying colors in that task. He completes not one, but two laps which are good enough for pole. Norris follows at 0.2 seconds, a wide gap by current F1 standards. Piastri is third.
Busy? “When you really have to perform, I usually do that, because I enjoy that aspect,” says Verstappen after he has climbed out of the Red Bull. Norris is disappointed, he says. “We just weren’t fast enough.”
The next morning, about five hours before the start, Verstappen walks into the paddock wearing white shorts and a backpack. He bleeps open the electronic entrance gate with his card and walks calmly, signing some signatures left and right. On the way to the Red Bull team home, he is smart not to walk along the central walkway through the paddock, where a hedge of photographers awaits the arriving drivers every morning. Instead, Verstappen chooses a quieter route along the marina adjacent to the paddock. There he leisurely slips into the Red Bull building through the back door.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) at the Yas Marina Circuit after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Photo Sander Koning/ANP
Twenty minutes later, Norris also steps through the turnstile into the paddock – and immediately encounters an impenetrable herd of autograph hunters, photographers and cameramen. Thanks to a trained, tattooed security guard who towers at least a head above him, Norris is making some progress again. Like a pack of sardines, the crowd follows him towards the McLaren accommodation.
All the people around him deprive Norris of the view of a banner that the organization quickly placed during the weekend. Against a background of dark clouds, Norris, Verstappen and Piastri stand around the champion’s trophy. ‘The ultimate showdown‘, reads above their heads.
It’s no ordinary day in Abu Dhabi for the title contenders, who find themselves in a vortex of media attention and hype all weekend long – favorite Norris perhaps most of all. And yet it is again business as usual. Title fight or not, on race days the drivers’ agendas are packed with team meetings and other moments where they have to show up.
This Sunday, Verstappen’s program starts with the group photo that Red Bull, like the other teams, traditionally takes at the last race of the season. In front of the pit box of the British-Austrian team, all approximately one hundred employees who traveled along gather in a carefully thought-out arrangement; white notes indicate who should sit on which folding chair. There are still three and a half hours before the race starts.
Only when everyone, including team boss Laurent Mekies, has taken their place, Verstappen is called in. He has now put on his racing overalls. The photographer wants to print, but then starts shouting at a bunch of VIPs who have entered the shot on the balcony above the garage, and are apparently quite disfiguring the team photo. When they have finally advanced, Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff arrives. He is too late, but the entire Red Bull company has to move so that the boss can take his place next to Mekies. Someone quickly drags in a few extra folding chairs.
Verstappen watches the bumbling from the wheel of his car with a smile on his face. It was extra polished especially for the photo and then placed in front of the group setup. The red starting number 1 of the world champion is on the nose, which Verstappen must try to keep this afternoon.
Open cart
Immediately afterwards, Verstappen returns to the Red Bull shelter behind the pits. Not to lie on the couch for a while. Verstappen has plenty to do, says his manager Raymond Vermeulen. Tactical discussions are planned. And two hours before the race, Verstappen must take a lap around the circuit on an open cart together with nineteen other drivers and wave to the fans in the stands, including thousands of Dutch people, who have sometimes obtained a ticket at the last minute – with or without exorbitant prices. After that, Verstappen can disappear into the shelter for a while.
Fifty minutes before the race, Verstappen – race suit stripped off, cooling vest over his fire-resistant undershirt – heads towards the pits. No more signatures now. As the sun almost disappears behind the stands, Verstappen climbs into his Red Bull and sets course for his first starting spot.
A little later, while the starting grid is overflowing with VIPs and dignitaries, Verstappen, Norris and Piastri have to climb onto a podium where the World Cup trophy is also located. The F1 organization is not averse to creating effects, so the trio is positioned around the cup, exactly as on the mega poster in the paddock. The national anthem of the United Arab Emirates starts playing, fighter jets fly overhead. Then all the formalities are finally over and Verstappen and his competitors can close their helmet visors.
Lando Norris (McLaren) celebrates his world title on the podium of the Yas Marina Circuit.
Photo Sander Koning/ANP
The five starting lights go out, the race begins. As darkness falls, it becomes increasingly clear that Verstappen is not going to become champion. Norris drops back to third place, but that is still enough. The problems he had to avoid are nowhere to be seen.
While he is comfortably in the lead, Verstappen occasionally glances at the video screens along the track. Would something still happen to Norris? No, Verstappen keeps catching images of the McLaren driving stiffly.
And yet: Verstappen’s race is going well. He enjoys driving his RB21 one more time, the car that gave him so much trouble at the beginning of the year, but now takes him to his eighth victory of the year. When he crosses the finish line in the lead, Verstappen knows he has lost his title. But feel bad about that? He doesn’t.
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