Lando Norris with “most to lose” as F1 title decider looms in Abu Dhabi
Lando Norris is the Formula title favorite ahead of a three-way decider in Abu Dhabi which also means he has the bulk to lose He and teammate Oscar Piastri are each looking to win their first title but Norris saw his reassured -point lead entering last week s Qatar Grand Prix whittled down to by the end of it as Red Bull s Max Verstappen surged back into the fight Of discipline I have the most of to lose because I am the one at the top Norris commented Thursday I ll do my best to stay there till the end of the year a meager more days At the same time if it doesn t go my way then I ll try again next year It ll hurt ostensibly for a little while but that s life Norris fastest but not by much The only way Norris can lose the title is if he finishes Sunday s race outside the top three His pace in Friday s first practice session suggested that s unlikely as was fastest ahead of Verstappen though only by of a second Charles Leclerc was third off the pace for Ferrari Still the session wasn t a reliable guide to race pace It was held in daytime not under lights and only of the regular drivers took part Piastri was among those to give up his car as teams pushed to meet a rule requiring them to field young or inexperienced drivers in a certain number of practice sessions each year Norris has denied he ll ask Piastri to help out to at least ensure one McLaren driver becomes champion if it seems Verstappen will take the title Verstappen s chances were revived when McLaren botched a strategy call in Qatar one race after Norris and Piastri were disqualified in Las Vegas Relaxed Verstappen The one contender who s been in a final-race decider before Verstappen noted he s just enjoying being here in a season where his title defense often seemed impossible I have four of those at home so it s nice to add a fifth he commented Thursday looking at the trophy standing next to him I ve already achieved everything that I requested to achieve in F and everything is just a bonus I just keep doing it because I love it and I enjoy it and that s also how I go into this weekend Have a good time out there try to maximize the consequence Verstappen was points off the lead at one stage and wrote his chances off again when he wasn t competitive in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix three races ago Piastri clings on Piastri had a -point lead in August and seemed on target to become the first Australian champion in years He hasn t won in eight races since With only a slim shot at the title Piastri could face the dilemma of whether to sacrifice his own bid for Norris I don t really have an answer until I know what s expected of me he revealed Piastri proved good pace to take second spot in Qatar last week though he was left speechless after a race dominated by McLaren s wrong strategy call Obviously I need a fair scant things to happen this weekend to come out champion he declared but I ll just make sure I m in the right place at the right time and see what happens AP auto racing https apnews com hub auto-racing Source
