Post by : Meena
Hassan
In a masterclass performance, Max Verstappen reignited the championship battle by reducing Lando Norris’ lead to just 12 points ahead of the climactic season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The Red Bull ace clinched victory with a time of 1:24:38.241, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Carlos Sainz brought home third place for Williams. Unfortunately for Norris, he had to settle for fourth after facing an early strategy mishap.
A collision between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly at Turn 1 caused a safety car situation on lap seven, prompting most drivers to pit early. Only Piastri and Norris opted to stay out, resulting in a two-stop strategy upon the race restart on lap ten.
Verstappen surged ahead at the start, overtaking Norris into Turn 1 and closely trailing Piastri before the incident. Piastri managed to secure second place, while Norris fought back to pass Kimi Antonelli late in the race, earning two critical points. George Russell finished sixth for Mercedes.
“Now everything is open,” Verstappen commented. “We’ll see what happens. I’m not overly concerned.”
Piastri, who now sits 16 points behind Norris, acknowledged that the team needs to revisit its strategy. “I did my best, but it didn’t work out this time,” he reflected. “In retrospect, there are clear changes we would have made.”
Norris still controls his championship destiny, requiring only a top-three finish in Abu Dhabi to secure his first title.
“It wasn’t our finest hour,” Norris admitted. “However, I have had solid performances leading up to this. I’ll take the lessons from today into next weekend’s race.”
English
