ABU DHABI – Max Verstappen was “incredibly happy” on Dec 6 after clinching pole position for the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with McLaren’s Formula One leader Lando Norris alongside on the front row and his teammate Oscar Piastri qualifying third.

In a shrewd tactical move by Red Bull, four-time world champion Verstappen was given an aerodynamic tow behind teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who will start 10th, to lap 0.201 seconds faster than Norris.

Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points, and Piastri by a further four, and will be champion as long as he finishes on the podium in the Dec 7 race at Yas Marina. 

Verstappen will have to win and hope Norris finish no higher than fourth and the 2025 crown will be his. For now, the Dutchman said he was thrilled with his pole position.

“In Q2, I stayed on scrubbed tyres and those laps already felt quite decent. In Q3 around here, the track temperature is coming down and you know you can push more and that’s what we did,” he assessed.

“We found a bit more lap time and I am incredibly happy to be in first. That’s the only thing we can do, we can control, to maximise what we have and what we can with the car and we definitely did that in qualifying.

“I will try to win the race... We need a bit of luck with what’s happening behind us.”

Norris, meanwhile, admitted that Verstappen was the better driver on the day.

“It’s tough. Max did a good job so congrats to him,” he said.

“We did everything we could. I think my lap was pretty good, I was pretty happy. Of course disappointed to not be on pole for the final weekend but we were just not fast enough today, so we will try and do it tomorrow.”

When asked about his strategy for the main race, he gave nothing away.

“The time will come I think of that but, for now, disappointed to not be on po...