F1 title race set for grandstand finish in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: Watching Formula 1 this season, one can’t help but get a feeling of déjà vu. The mind inevitably races back to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, F1 calendar’s dramatic last chapter from that year, one that heralded Max Verstappen’s arrival on the big stage, as the Dutchman went on to beat seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton – driving a Mercedes back in those days – in controversial circumstances to win the first of his four World Championships.

This year again, the Drivers’ Championship is going down to the wire and heading for a grandstand finish at the Yas Marina Circuit with the McLaren duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, till recently battling each other and the Papaya rules – read that as team orders to supposedly keep things fair between the two drivers – now having to fend off a resurgent Verstappen. It seemed a foregone conclusion that one among these two would win his first title, given that the young Australian was 104 points ahead of Verstappen and Norris was 70 points ahead after the Red Bull driver’s home Grand Prix in Zaandvoort, prompting the Dutchman to even say that he is unlikely to win another race this season.

Oh how things have changed since the summer break!

Piastri seems to have gone off the boil as the four-time world champion whittled down the Aussie’s lead to just 35 points after the Mexico City GP with victories at Monza, Baku and Austin – including a sprint race. And with Briton Norris seemingly finding his mojo once again with a dominant victory at the high-altitude venue that took him ahead of his teammate by just one point on Sunday, it sure looks like everything will boil down to who takes the chequered flag first on December 7 in the UAE capital.

But hold your horses.

With three races and two sprint races still to come before the F1 bandwagon rolls into Abu Dhabi, a lot can happen given there will be 91 points at stake. While Norris leads the way with 357, followed by Piastri with 356 and Verstappen with 321, the Dutchman will effectively need to win everything from here on till Abu Dhabi to make it a three-horse race at the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit.

But let’s count the Dutchman out for now – at our own peril as he has repeatedly shown this season – because 36 points with just four races and two sprint races to go may be a mountain too high to climb for the mercurial Dutchman. But then, even if he does not reach Abu Dhabi as a contender for his fifth title, he could still play a decisive role in the title race.

In the chaotic Mexico City GP on Sunday, Verstappen’s charge on soft tyres at the end almost gave him second place until a late virtual safety car saved a struggling Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari. That potentially cost the Dutchman three points in the title race, but like he said at the end of the race, “it is what it is”. Piastri, on the other hand, finished fifth behind Haas rookie Ollie Bearman and has seen his lead disappear over the last few weekends, which has effectively handed the momentum back to Norris.

Coming up are races in Brazil – remember the rain-soaked drama last year when Verstappen put on a wet-weather masterclass to turn the tide on Norris – on the streets of Las Vegas and then in Qatar, before the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Among these four, the ones in Brazil and Qatar also have a sprint race to add to the drama.

The 2026 season heralds a new era for Formula 1, with revised power unit configuration and new active aerodynamics, and most teams have already started work on their new cars. But for the McLaren duo and Verstappen, there is still a lot of unfinished business left. And given how this roller-coaster season has unfolded so far, you can bet on Abu Dhabi to provide an edge-of-the-seat thriller under lights come December 7.