Now the little kid, still too young for Formula One then, pulling at his finger joints, can make good on the hopes that were placed on him as a rising star by emulating Lewis Hamilton as world champion.
But what on earth will Mad Max do to Lando Norris, to his head, to his hopes, to his heart?
Verstappen starts on pole, and that offers the Dutch manipulator the chance to bunch up the field. This brand of mischief, should he deploy it, could yet wreck his pal’s young lifetime’s dream in the warm evening air of Abu Dhabi, where the Briton will start the title-decider from second.
The good news for Norris is that finishing runner-up or in third place would be enough to see him crowned. He is 12 points clear as the lights go out, and the bonus for us veterans of this gigantically long season is that we can savour a grid that is almost perfectly set up for drama, with Oscar Piastri, 16 points back in the other McLaren, rolling the dice from third place.
Norris no longer fiddles with his knuckles as he did nervously as a pimpled teenager. But yesterday, aged 26, he ruffled his hair a couple of times after qualifying as he grappled with the scale of his task and of his adversary.
Yes, Verstappen’s two qualifying laps, each of which was good enough for pole, the last pyrotechnical one by a margin of two-tenths, must hammer into his thoughts. So, though, does Verstappen’s promise last night to go ‘all out’.
And, in passing, it was interesting to observe Verstappen, 28, stand next to the two marginally shorter protagonists afterwards on the tarmac, looking like a man among boys. He is relishing the purple years of his career, his status unmatched by any peer. He is also unflappable, the one best equipped to produce magic in a sandstorm.
Other reasons for nagging doubts? The first example from history at Yas Marina regards his potential scheming. In 2016, Lewis Hamilton started from pole 12 points back from Nico Rosberg, starting second – so the exact same mathematical scenario as today’s other than for it being a straight, two-way fight those nine years ago. They were also Mercedes team-mates; it was not a McLaren-Red Bull match-up.
What did Hamilton do? Instead of blazing off for a glorious win, he tried to concertina the field to ensnare Rosberg in traffic behind him.
Could Verstappen deploy a replica scheme tomorrow? ‘I don’t imagine Max will drive into the sunset so there will be opportunities,’ said Mercedes’ George Russell, who messed up the last corner in qualifying and will start fourth rather than possibly a place or two further up the battlefield as he would have done other than for his late snaking.
Verstappen was among the melee whom Hamilton was trying to bring into the fray in 2016. He finished fourth, behind Sebastian Vettel, Rosberg and race winner Hamilton. The ploy failed.
But can Verstappen make such black arts work for him? You wonder? Think how Norris felt last night as he left the McLaren hospitality area. Or how his mum Cisca, dad Adam, or girlfriend Margarida Corceiro, slept?
Verstappen, they all know, has a preternatural sense for reading and directing a race situation. Last night the four-time world champion was coy about what he would do to retain his status as world No1, keeping his rivals guessing, saying: ‘I have nothing to lose.
‘Of course, I am going to try to win the race, defend if I need to, attack if I need to.’
Admitting he needed some luck behind him on the specifics of bunching up Norris, he at least pretended to be less than convinced of the possibility to do so, saying: ‘It was a different layout in 2016, and now you get towed around the lap a lot more, so it is probably not as easy.
‘The cars are different, too.’ He added: ‘I hope it is not a straightforward race but hopefully that is not because of me.’
To which Norris rejoined: ‘No idea (what he will do). I expect everything. Let’s wait and see.’
When Norris had left the track, his team principal Andrea Stella was holding his usual post-qualifying press interviews on the top floor terrace with its views over the bay. It was 9pm here and the music pumped out from the boats below.
The Italian said: ‘With regards available to Max, I would not be surprised to see some interesting racing, but I am sure it will be within the boundaries of sportsmanship and fairness.’
A second important Abu Dhabi date that impacts on the destiny of this title is 2021. That experience in infamous circumstances makes Verstappen the battle-hardened survivor of nerve-shredding tension.
Norris, in contrast, is a first-time caller to the title-deciding cauldron. Incidentally, he was one of the five cars ordered to unlap themselves before the safety car came in and Hamilton was passed by Verstappen, lost out on a seventh title, and travelled to the darkest place of his life.
As for 24-year-old Piastri’s Abu Dhabi succour, it comes from 2010, when Sebastian Vettel roared from third in the standings to wear the crown. Nobody had bet their house on that, just as they had not in the last three-way contest in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen came from third to snatch Ferrari’s last drivers’ title. Piastri would only need Verstappen and Norris to take each other out, and bingo!
All eyes are on those latter two, and, since I predicted the same before the season started, my hunch is for Verstappen.
Read more
- Can McLaren’s Lando Norris hold his nerve and finish third in Abu Dhabi to secure the title, or will Max Verstappen’s relentless pursuit crush their dreams?
- Is Verstappen’s title triumph inevitable, or could Norris pull off a miracle at the dazzling Las Vegas GP scene?
- F1’s clash of titans: Can Max Verstappen overcome the odds to snatch the title from leader Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi?
- Can Lando Norris maintain his razor-thin lead over teammate Oscar Piastri and dethrone Max Verstappen from F1 supremacy with just four thrilling races left?
- Can Piastri snatch victory from under Norris and Verstappen’s nose, against all odds, in a thrilling F1 finale?
