F1 Abu Dhabi GP qualifying live: Norris, Verstappen and Piastri battle for pole in title decider
Three world title rivals target a vital pole position ahead of the season-decider on Sunday
The 2025 Formula 1 season concludes this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where the F1 drivers’ title will be settled as Lando Norris bids to hold his nerve and triumph ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
The McLaren drivers will battle the Red Bull star on Sunday after a thrilling finale to the season, with Verstappen edging closer to Norris after victory in Qatar last week, chopping down the deficit to just 12 points after another mistake-ridden weekend for the British outfit.
The equation is simple for Verstappen, who will hope to land another win with Norris in fourth or lower to scoop a fifth title in as many seasons. Team dynamics, and papaya rules, could impact how Piastri’s role evolves over the weekend, should his own chances of winning the title fade with 16 points separating him and his teammate. McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed team orders would be invoked should it be necessary.
Norris went fastest in both practice sessions on Friday, with Verstappen following closely behind in second but Piastri down the order in 11th in the evening session.
Follow all the latest updates from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with The Independent:
ANALYSIS: The three F1 title finales that show why Lando Norris is far from safe in Abu Dhabi
Sweeping across the Gulf to Abu Dhabi, host of Formula One’s season finale for 12 consecutive years, Lando Norris really should be home and dry by now. Without those Las Vegas disqualifications a fortnight ago, Max Verstappen would be out of the running. Without last week’s mistakes in Qatar, McLaren could rest easy in the knowledge that the drivers’ champion would, at the very least, be donning papaya colours. Yet here we are; on we go.
This weekend’s three-way fight in the desert is the first F1 championship-decider involving more than two drivers for 15 years. Back then, a four-way hammer-and-tong concluded with a surprise champion at the chequered flag: Sebastian Vettel’s first of four triumphs, and other shock winners before him on the final day, are telling case studies for Sunday’s final curtain call.
More below:
The three F1 title finales that show why Lando Norris is far from safe in Abu Dhabi
NEW: Aston Martin fined
Aston Martin has been handed two €25,000 fines (€15,000 suspended per fine), after Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll missed a fan commitment on Friday.
Both drivers were absent from the Friday Fan Engagement session in Abu Dhabi.
F1 2025 season awards: Why Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari is by far the biggest disappointment
The F1 drivers’ championship comes down to the final race in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with Lando Norris primed for a maiden title and hoping to fend off Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
While the drama has been at the front of the grid, the woeful year for Ferrari, and in particular Lewis Hamilton, has been a painful storyline for fans of the seven-time world champion and the Scuderia.
The reshuffle for the grid in 2026 is now set, too, with Isack Hadjar’s rise at Red Bull and a debut campaign awaiting British teenager Arvid Lindblad.
While 2026 also signals the return of Adrian Newey as the new team principal at Aston Martin F1, taking over from Andy Cowell.
Here’s how everything went down in 2025 with Independent Sport’s picks:
F1 2025 season awards including why Hamilton is biggest disappointment
George Russell: ‘McLaren must accept fate and not interfere in F1 title race’
“If they’re in the position that Max is on course to win, and Oscar can allow Lando… I wouldn’t want to win a championship because my teammate has pulled over, especially if he’s been my rival that year.
“When it’s clearly someone who’s been a number two all season, I think that’s fine. I don’t think it’s right at this stage to do any team orders; you’ve just got to accept fate.”
Asked what he’d do if put in Piastri’s potentially difficult position, Russell joked: “It’s easier to unplug the radio!”
More below:
George Russell: ‘McLaren must accept fate and not interfere in F1 title race’
F1 constructor standings in full:
1. McLaren - 800 points (champions)
2. Mercedes - 459 points
3. Red Bull - 426 points
4. Ferrari - 382 points
5. Williams - 137 points
6. Racing Bulls - 92 points
7. Aston Martin - 80 points
8. Haas - 73 points
9. Sauber - 68 points
10. Alpine - 22 points
COMMENT: Max Verstappen is laughing at McLaren – how many warnings do they need?
For all the smugness radiating off the face of Max Verstappen and, by the same token, the fumes of red mist emitting from furious McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, perhaps the first words should go to the true winner of the Qatar Grand Prix: Red Bull’s cool-headed strategy chief, Hannah Schmitz.
For it was Schmitz, the 40-year-old Cambridge-educated engineer, who made the critical call amid yellow flags and muddled thinking on Sunday night. On lap seven, a crash and a safety car created a door of opportunity. Red Bull, and every other team on the grid for that matter, walked straight through. McLaren, however, turned a blind eye.
More below:
Max Verstappen is laughing at McLaren F1 – how many more warnings do they need?
McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown will use team orders in Abu Dhabi: ‘We’d be crazy not to’
McLaren CEO Zak Brown says the team will implement team orders if required in order to stop Max Verstappen winning the F1 world championship on Sunday.
The papaya-clad team, who wrapped up the constructors’ title in October, have opted against prioritising either Norris or Piastri throughout the season. However, in a change of approach, Brown has now acknowledged that McLaren will intervene in Sunday’s race in order to seal the drivers’ title.
Full quotes below:
McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown will use team orders in Abu Dhabi: ‘We’d be crazy not to’
Top-10 in FP3
1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:23.334
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.004
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.124
4. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.251
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.259
6. Esteban Ocon (Haas) +0.271
7. Oliver Bearman (Haas) +0.275
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.341
9. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.373
10. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.388
What time is qualifying?
Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is at 2pm (GMT).
George Russell fastest in FP3
And that, ladies and gents, is practice done for 2025.
George Russell has snatched a perfect weekend from Lando Norris, taking top spot with a 1:23:334 - just 0.004 seconds ahead of the championship leader!
Max Verstappen is in third, a tenth off, with Oscar Piastri in fourth. All the title contenders are there or thereabouts.
5-10: Ocon, Bearman, Leclerc, Antonelli, Albon
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