But what gives him the added benefit is that he’s been there, done it. Not once, but four times. That freedom to go for it without worrying about risks unshackled him and allowed him to push even harder to deliver a scorching lap (1:22.207) to claim pole — his eighth of the year and 48th of career — in a tense Saturday qualifying, ahead of Norris (1:22.408) and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri (1:22.437).
“It’s a massive advantage because Max is like ‘if I win this year, it’s great. If I don’t, I go home, we have a winter break and come out next year and fight for a world championship’. He’s very relaxed. The thing about Max is he’s just there to go racing. He loves the competition, loves winning, there’s no pressure on his shoulders,” 2009 world champion Jenson Button told HT from Abu Dhabi.
“Whereas the other two, a lot of pressure. It’s the first time they’ve had an opportunity to fight for a world championship. That is a big deal. This is their dream. It could be their dreams coming true. From a five-year-old when you watch F1, your dream is to win a world championship and this might happen for one of them. So, there’s a lot of pressure you put on your shoulders.”
This is the first time in 15 years that three contenders are entering the season-ending race with a chance to win the title. Button, 45, was there when at Abu Dhabi 2010 he saw Sebastian Vettel come from third in the title race to pip championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to become the youngest ever F1 champion.
“You can tighten up under that pressure and it really can affect you. Even if you have the quickest car at the last race, you’re not able to extract the maximum because you’re not relaxed, you’re not yourself. So, it’s an advantage for Max. But even if Max wins, it’s not down to him this weekend. It’s all how Lando deals with the pressure and that’s what’s going to win the championship for either Max or Lando,” said Button in a call facilitated by FanCode, the official broadcaster for F1 in India.
The last 10 Abu Dhabi GPs have been won by the driver starting from pole. Though starting second, series leader Norris, 26, just needs to finish on the podium to ensure his maiden F1 title. But as witnessed in Qatar, in case the Briton falls behind, overtaking will not be easy, especially in a race where nerves are expected to play a big role.
“It’s very easy to think to just take it easy, don’t make mistakes but as soon as you start driving like that, that’s when mistakes happen. What Lando’s done (in) the second part of the year has really been impressive. Because it’s such a long season he’s been able to get through all that, the mental side of things, having good people around him, keeping him positive. In the last few races you’ve seen the consistency of his performances compared to his teammate,” said Button, who won 15 races in his F1 career.
“Obviously when you go up against someone like Max, it’s a different beast altogether and we still see in close combat like in (Las) Vegas that Lando still can’t take on Max but he doesn’t have to. If he’s quick enough to be in the top three, he’s just got to go through Turn 1 and then the race will come to him. So, it is definitely Lando’s to lose as we’ve seen championships won from a lot further back.
“In this last race, it’s still open and I love that and that’s why we’re all excited about this last race.”
Australian Piastri led for 15 races this year and looked the clear favourite at the end of the Dutch GP in August. But he spiralled downwards as the season neared the business end to not just relinquish his lead but go third in the championship and 16 points behind leader Norris going into the final race.
For him to snatch the championship, he will need to not just win but also hope both Norris and Verstappen do not fare well. But it is possible as witnessed in 2010 and 2007 when the third positioned driver eventually won the championship — Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and Vettel in 2010.
