The stage is set. With the supporting cast largely out of the picture, the three Championship protagonists are left to settle it. Max Verstappen claimed his eighth pole of the season with Lando Norris alongside and Oscar Piastri directly behind. There’s a race to win — and bigger decisions to make.
Will strategy influence the outcome? Almost certainly. Verstappen and Piastri, each with little to lose, can take very different approaches. Choosing to do the opposite of a rival is a well-worn tactic when a title is on the line — and Abu Dhabi has been the scene of such gambles before.
What happened last year (and the year before that)?
The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was tactically simple. The top eight all used a one-stop strategy, and seven of those — including the podium finishers — ran medium then hard.