What does Max Verstappen need to win the 2025 F1 world championship in Abu Dhabi?
Max Verstappen has claimed pole position in Abu Dhabi as the Dutchman looks to bridge the 12 point-gap to Lando Norris in the F1 drivers’ world championship as the title race goes down to the final round.
Verstappen will start from top spot at the Yas Marina Circuit after he set two laps worthy of pole position as he seeks to win a fifth consecutive championship.
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Norris, who holds a precarious 12-point title lead over his Red Bull rival, lines up alongside his nemesis on the front row with Oscar Piastri, the other title contender who is four points further back, in third.
Max Verstappen is 12 points off Lando Norris (Getty Images)
Red Bull’s Verstappen is well aware that an eighth victory of the season may not be enough to complete one of sport’s finest comebacks. After taking pole by an impressive 0.201 seconds, Verstappen warned Norris: “I will go all out. I have nothing to lose.”
So what does Verstappen need to win the title?
It now goes down to Abu Dhabi.
TOP-3 – F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 408 points
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2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 396 points
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 392 points
Norris has a 12-point lead over Verstappen, who is now in second place. Piastri is a further four points back, 16 off his teammate.
It is a normal race weekend in Abu Dhabi. Therefore, Norris will win the world championship if he finishes on the podium at the Yas Marina Circuit. A minimum third place (15 points) in Abu Dhabi would give Norris an unassailable 27-point lead.
Fourth place (12 points) for Norris would give the Brit a 24-point lead and, thus, if Verstappen then won the race, the Dutchman would take the title by one point.
Alternatively, put simply, Verstappen needs to score 13 more points than Norris. If Verstappen finished second, he would need Norris to finish eighth or lower.
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Twelve more points would put them level on points but, unless Verstappen won (in which case he’d win the title anyway if Norris finished off the podium) they would both be tied on countback on seven wins each. It then goes to second-place finishes, where Norris has the advantage with eight compared to Verstappen’s five.
Piastri has an even harder task. He needs to score 16 or more points than Norris and four more points than Verstappen.
If they’re all level on points, it goes to countback. As it stands, all three drivers have won seven races, but Norris has eight second-place finishes, compared to five for Verstappen and four for Piastri.
Norris leads Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16 points (Getty)